Happy Valentine's Day!

Best purchase

Last Monday Miss K had a playdate with one of her little friends. This friend got a My First Dollhouse for Christmas. She played with that dollhouse almost the entire time we were there. (Although, she referred to it as a "doghouse"...there is a dog in the family as well.) She talked about that house on the drive home and asked me if we could go back to her friend's house tomorrow so that she could play with the "doghouse" again. I told her we would see. Then came the question, "Mommy, you get me a doghouse, please?" Now, Miss K has never come out and asked me for a toy before. Yes, she will throw a fit over a toy she sees in Target, but she has never asked me for a toy without being in the store. I told her that we would talk to Daddy about it and we would see. In my head I knew that we really didn't need another toy, but in my heart, I knew she really wanted that house and she did say please. I mentioned it to Brian that night and he didn't even think about it...he said no. Now, in Brian's defense, our house is totally overrun with toys right now. And only 1/3 of the toys she has are actually in the house. We have a garage full of toys that never made it back into the house when we moved back. Anyway...back to the house. All evening she talked about the house. I finally told her she needed to ask her daddy. He just gave me the "look". He finally said that if I could find room for it, she could have it. No problem! There are no toys in her room, so the "doghouse" can go in her room. So, I went to Target the next day in search of the much wanted doghouse. Nothing. So, Thursday night my inlaws came into town. On Friday afternoon we headed over to Franklin to have lunch and do a little shopping. Off we headed to Toys R Us. I was on a mission. I needed to get that house for Miss K. She asked me every single day if I would get her a doghouse. I honestly thought she would eventually forget about it. Nope.

So, we get to TRU. I located the much desired toy. There was a small problem, but after searching, I located the correct house. And of course it would be too easy to include everything you need with the house, so I had to purchase 4 accessory packs as well. (There are 5, but they were out of it, so I had to order that one on line.) So, now we have a family. The family consist of a daddy, a mommy, a big sister, a baby sister, a grandma and a dog. (I have no idea why FP decided to leave the grandpa out.)

Miss K has been playing with her house non-stop since we got it home. She had both of her grandparents playing with her and the house pretty much all weekend. Right now as I type this, the family must be on a family outing because they are in the Little People Learning Zoo. The entire family is in the tree house...that does include the dog. Seriously....best toy purchase I've made in a long time. And the doghouse? It's sitting in the middle of my family room.

My weigh in

So, I weighed in on Wednesday. I knew I had lost some weight, but I wasn't sure how much. I will be honest, I was a little disappointed. I really thought I lost more. I've lost 11.2 pounds since December 28th. So, I've lost a total of 16.2 pounds. (I lost the first 5 the week of Christmas....go figure!)

I really need to get more exercise. I just need to get motivated to do it. I joined a walking group, but they only walk on Saturdays. No problem...I'll walk. But I hate to walk alone and it has been so freaking cold outside. Does me dragging my daugther and mother in law around Opry Mills all day Sunday count as exercise?

Speaking of Opry Mills....I need to go back. I found an outfit for Miss K that I really liked at Hartstrings. My MIL did not like the outfit and was quick to tell me. So, I put it back. I loved the outfit. I'm going back this week to get it. I hope it is still there. It was 80% off. I love Hartstrings. I also stopped by Strasburg while I was there. Love that place, but it tends to be a tad bit out of my price range. Okay...WAY out of my price range. I found the cutest Christmas outfit for Miss K. I got the outfit and hair bow for $30. The outfit was originally $80 and the bow was originally $20. Love it. It's a pant outfit, but it is so cute. It totally looks like something I would put her in. And while we are on the subject of clothes...can I tell you something? I get so pissed off when someone makes a comment about how much money I must spend on Miss K's clothes. Honestly, it isnt' really of your business, but it you must know, I am a bargain shopper. I don't buy anything full price. If I can't get it on sale, I don't need it. Thus, the Christmas outfit purchased in January. I am also lucky enough to have a friend who has an "in" with a lady who owns a boutique in Texas. At the end of every season, before she sells her "excess inventory" for next to nothing, she calls my friend in to shop and gives her basically 90% off. This is where a bunch of K's dressy dresses come from. We just got a package today in the mail with two beautiful smocked dresses and an adorable capri outfit. Retails for almost $250. There is no way in the world I would pay that much for 3 outfits for a 2 1/2 year old. Okay...end of rant. Sorry about that.

I've got to get some sleep. Blog ya later!

I am so excited I could SCREAM!

So, Miss K is in this awesome MDO program. Love it. Can't say enough good things about it. Downside...no 3 year old class. It's a new program. The church is small, so even if they wanted to add a 3 year old class, there is no room for it. So, Hollye, yes ME, comes up with a great idea! Have the original 2 classes Monday/Wednesday as before and add a 3 year old and preschool class on Tuesday/Thursday! THEY ARE DOING IT! They made the decision on Saturday. Well....just a 3 year old class right now. Maybe they will consider adding the preschool the following year.

I am just beside myself with glee. Over a MDO program you ask? YES! The teachers and director of this program are awesome. The director is a certified Kindermusik teacher, so she does that with the kids during school and has added an after school class that starts next week.

I know..it sounds silly, but you would not believe how hard it is to get into a program in Nashville. My neighbor has had her daughter on a waiting list since she was 6 months old at their church and she hasn't gotten in...she's 3! I lucked out finding out about this program because a mom in my mom's group mentioned and I call the lady that day. There is now a long waiting list for the program.

Eyebrows, Wing Stop, and a funny pet peeve

Okay...let's talk about eyebrows first. I have been needing to get mine waxed for quite some time now. I just keep putting it off. My main problem is, I don't like to tweeze at all. HATE it. I'd rather go to the dentist then pluck my eyebrows. So, Wednesday after I dropped Miss K off at school and took care of my expired registration (which I got a ticket for), I headed to one of those chain places to get my brows done. I've been there before and have never had any complaints. Now, when I get mine done, I don't do them thin or narrow...whatever you want to call it. I usually just have them follow the natural arch of my brow and clean them up. And I told the girl that. She must not have listened. She waxed each brow twice. Next thing I know, she is trimming them with scissors! HELLO??? They don't look bad, they are just not what I am use to. And then I noticed when I got home, they aren't totally even. You wouldn't notice it unless you were staring at my face for 30 minutes like I did when I got home. It just feels odd to me and I keep touching them to see if they really are as short as I think they are!


Now onto Wing Stop... I sorta fell off the wagon today. I think I've been a little over cautious with my calorie intake and I am not eating enough. I told Brian this afternoon that I needed to eat something without obsessing about it. I ate a low cal breakfast and lunch so that it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Originally we were going to go out for dinner, but Miss K took a 3 hour nap and it looks like she is getting a cold, so I didn't want to take her out. Brian offered to pick up dinner on the way home. So, Wing Stop sounded good. Do you know, I ate 4 wings, a couple of fries and I was full, but I was also starting to feel SICK. I'm fairly certain that I didn't go over my "alloted" calories for the day. I even had him get me a sweet tea. I could't even drink half of it. Maybe I'll never enjoy food again? Maybe the pills are what is making me sick when I eat? Who knows. I am having some of the side effects that they said I would have and I will be honest....it sucks.

And now...the funny pet peeve. I know this is going to sound silly. I don't even know how to explain it. Blinds. I have an issue with blinds in people's houses. I hate driving by people's houses and seeing their blinds messed up or broken. My neighbor across the street..her blinds drive me NUTS. They are always messed up and I want to go over there and fix them. I am in no way an obsessive compulsive person, so the fact that this bothers me is strange! If I opend the blinds in my house on one window, I have to open all of the blinds in the house. If I put Miss K down for a nap and close her blind in her room...I have to go back and close all the blinds again. I check my blinds a couple of time a day to make sure that Miss K or the dogs hasn't messed them up. I'm so strange. I even catch myself looking at people's blinds when I drive past houses. So, any of you laughing at me right now? I probably need to be medicated or something!

Losing weight has made me sick...

So, Saturday I met up with my walking group. The plan was to walk 4 miles that day. We started out with the early group at 8:45am. We started out together, but 3 of us were moving a bit faster than the rest of the group. The "leader" told us to walk ahead if we wanted to. That was all she said. So, the three of us walked. And walked some more. And walked more. We lost the entire group. And there were no markers, so we didn't know how far we had walked....until we got to the end of the trail, 2.9 miles later! Oops. On our way back, one of the ladies from the group caught up to us and told us we missed the 2 mile marker. You think? There was no marker, just a "landmark". So, instead of 4 miles, I walked 5.8 miles. I struggled at one part that was all up hill. But, I was motivated by the two ladies walking with me. One of them kept telling me..."Come on Hollye, you can do it." over and over. Thank goodness for her. I felt great when it was done. Until I got home. Major headache that lasted all day Saturday and all day Sunday. I went to bed at like 7ish Sunday. I did not drink enough water. I know that is what happened. Need to make sure I MAKE myself drink more water.

As for my weight...I still have no idea how much I have lost. I know that I can now take my favorite pants off without unbuttoning them. I do not go back to the doctor until the 23rd, so I will find out then if all this has paid off. I'm stuggling with the food and counting calories right now. I think I am so worried that I am going to go over my 1400 calories that I am not eating enough. I really need to work on that.

And, because I was sick, I missed two days of my 365. I am so mad at myself. So, I am starting over....on Feb. 1st.

Went to a crop on Friday night. Got one project almost completed. I just need to print out a couple more photos and it will be done. It turned out really cute. I still have a lot to do to complete all my goals for this month. Need to get working on that!

blog ya later.

I got a late Christmas present today...

And it's a good one!Since Miss K is obsessed with Dora, we call everything "Dora XXX" Like, you want some Dora rice? Look K, Dora peas! I even put them in a Dora bowl or on a Dora plate and give her a Dora fork or spoon. Sometimes it works, but mostly....it doesn't. So, I am going to try some recipes out of this nifty little cook book that one of my very dear friends gave me for Christmas. This will be a great way for all of us to get some veggies without the constant fighting. And hey, let's be honest here. I don't eat enough veggies either. I am going to try out at least once recipe this weekend, so I will let you know how it goes!

So, here is my day #3 photo. This wasn't the picture I was going for, but this is what I got. I am having some camera issues right now. I am 99% sure that it is all operator error. I am shooting in program mode with my 50mm lens. No flash. EVERYTHING is coming out grainy. I'm getting irritated. Well, it is WAY past my bedtime and I have to be at the park tomorrow morning to meet with my walking group for our 3 mile walk. I'm going to be dragging! Blog ya later!

Something new for me

So, most of you who have known me for a couple of years know that I struggle with my weight. Well, let's be honest, I don't take care of myself. So, right before Thanksgiving I got a phone call about a weight loss study. I was accepted into the study and started 3 days after Christmas. (I'm not 100% sure I am suppose to say what it actually is, so I will read my paperwork first before I go into details.) One of the things with this study is counting calories. Man. This has really been an eye opener for me. Let's just say, I think twice before I eat something these days. That cheesecake I love so much at the Cheesecake Factory? One slice is 1300 calories! OMG! I am only suppose to have 1400 calories a day. And all those salads I've eaten thinking it was better for me than something else. Ummm...nope. Some of those salads are 1100 calories. Oh my. So, I carry my trusty little calorie counter with me when I leave the house. If I know where we are going to eat, I will go online to a couple of websites I use and will check out some of the menu items and what the calorie count is. This way I am prepared for when we go out. It's been a huge change for me. I am use to just eating whatever I want and not even thinking twice about it. Well, I should have been thinking about it! So, that is where I am. I am not ready just yet to put my weight out there for all to "see". I will share how much I lose as I go along. My goal for the month of January is to lose at least 10 pounds. My problem right now is exercising. Since we've all been sick and then it got so cold, I've not had to chance to walk. I don't belong to a gym and a gym membership isn't something that I want to commit to right now. I joined a walking group, so I will be walking with them every Saturday. I am going to start another walking group for my Mom's group, so I hope to do that at least once a week. Then I need to walk 3 other days/night on my own. So...enough about that.

I am on my second day of the 365 Challenge. I am doing a kids challenge. 365 days of photos of Miss K. Thankfully she has decided that having her picture taken isn't too bad and will actually smile for the camera. So, here is my Day #2

Could it be any colder outside?

What is up with this weather? It's too cold to go outside and all Miss K wanted to do was "go outside" and "Mommy, we go bye-bye. Let's go shopping." Hmmm...maybe we shop too much. Anyway, tomorrow is suppose to be freakishly cold. I have a couple of errands I need to run, but I am going to wait until later in the afternoon when it has warmed up a little bit. I need to run to Gymboree and replace a pair of pants. A pair that I just bought right before Christmas. Brian and my dad took K to the playground and she got her seat and the cuff all dirty. I've tried everything and I can not get the dirt out. If you have any laundry tips, I would greatly appreciate you passing them on! I would love to save the pants instead of replacing them. Speaking of Gymboree, I misplaced my Gymbuck. That's gonna stink if I can't find it before redepmtion time!

So, this evening Miss K decided to pull out dress up box I made for her. It was a hoot. She has a hard time putting the clothes on herself, so I dressed her. It was so funny. Normally she will only wear pieces for a few minutes and then pull them off, but tonight I told her I wanted to take her picture and she said okay. It was so cute. She had on three different pieces to three different costumes. I love it. She was so it to it. Too bad it was almost 10pm and WAY past her bedtime. I promised her that tomorrow we would play dress up all day.

So, I wanted to start the 365 challenge. I decided to do it at like 11:30pm on the 1st, so my challenge will run January 2, 2008 to January 1, 2009. Oh my! Doesn't that sound strange? I thought about setting up a different blog for the challenge, but honestly, I don't want to maintain that.

Happy New Year!

I hope that your new year has started off right. New Year's Eve in our house was very low key this year. The three of us have been sick since before Christmas, so we decided to just hang out at home. We ordered pizza and played Wii. (We got the game system from Brian's parents for Christmas...total surprise!) Miss K thought she was bowling whenever it was Brian's turn, so she was dancing around in front of the TV. It was a site. New Year's Eve is also the first night that Miss K slept in a big girl bed. Yep. My baby is not a baby anymore. (This makes me very sad.) Brian converted her bed early in the afternoon, so she took a nap in it. It didn't go too bad. She got out of the bed four different times, but the minute I opened the door, she would jump back in her bed. Except the last time...she was in her closet looking out the window. But when it came time for her to go to bed last night, she went straight to bed and never got out once. She loves her big girl bed.

So...a new year. It's like a do over. Lord knows I need a do over. I make resolutions and never keep them. I start projects that I never complete. So, I am going to try things a little different this year. Instead of a resolution for the year, I am going to make a resolution for each month. This is something that I can do and not be overwhelmed.

So, I am still thinking about what I want to acheive this month. I have some scrapbooking goals already, so I will share those. I'll share my other goals later this week.

So, my scrappy goals for the month of January are:

*complete Jennie's cleaning challenge (that means...clean my scrapbook room)

*complete 2 gifts albums - 14 pages in each album (this is almost done! I just need to print some stuff out and that's it!)

*complete 5 layouts (2 of these are done, I just need to date them!)

*complete 10 cards

*complete 5 digital layouts

*backup all of the 2007 photos

*print beach vacation photos and put in albums for family (I've narrowed down the photos that I want to print, now I need to upload them and order them.)

This blog will return to it's regularly schedule program on New Years.

I am going to take the rest of the year off. I've got some cleaning to do and I've got a house full of sick people. (Jenny, I'm sorry you got sick!!!)

Hope your Christmas rocked....our's did!

Christmas Card

Well, I only ordered 50 cards this year, so that is all I am sending out. I decided I wanted to do something different this year. Last year I just ordered photo cards from Costco and they were great. But, I wanted something with more photos. So, I found a digital kit and came up with this. I really like it. (No Sherri and Michelle...I do NOT need an intervention!)

Well...

I now have one ornament on my tree. I took the others off so that I could start decorating the tree. Then the photographer called and said she was on her way over to drop off the CD, so I forgot about the tree and spent some time going over and over the photos. I love action shots and with a 2 year old...that's pretty much all you are going to get. There were a couple of posed ones, but very few. I spent some time working on my Christmas card. I decided instead of going to Costco route this year, I was going to do it myself. (Well...sorta. I bought a digital kit on line.) I am having one printed at Walgreen's to see how it looks. If it looks okay, I will go ahead and order them and have that out of the way. Here is another photo from Sunday. Can I just say, I am married to an amazing man? I probably don't tell him enough, but I crazy in love with him. (I know he reads this blog, so I hope this makes him smile.) He's the world's greatest dad too. Miss K is pretty crazy about him too.

I need to get to bed. It's like 2:30 in the morning. The last time I did this, I woke up feeling like I had a hangover and I hadn't even been drinking!

Blog ya later!

Family Photos

We had photos taken this weekend. This is just one of the couple hundred or so that she took. The photographer is Jennifer Dunaway. She was super sweet.

Where is it?

Have you seen my holiday spirit? I'm not sure it has arrived yet. I don't know what to do. I've got a million and one things to do, but I can not get motivated to do any of it. I have a cookie excahnge that I am attending on Saturday, but I've not even picked out a recipe. I have another exchange for my mom's group the following Tuesday and my house is a disaster area. My dining room is trashed. Can't even see the top of the table. The tree has been up for over a week. It had maybe 4 ornaments on it. I need to take them off and really decorate the tree.

(Looking at the photos I took with the point n' shoot makes me think that it is ruined. It got left outside in the seat compartment of Miss's K wagon for days...in the rain.)

I think I am depressed. I honestly think it has to do with babies. It seems like a lot of my friends who have kids Miss K's age are pregnant with their second child. Did we make the wrong decision? Should we have tried one more time? If we do decide to actually adopt a baby, how long will that take? It just makes me a little sad. My neighbor recently had a baby girl, so I get some new baby smell when I need it.

Gotta snap out of it.

Miss K has been a little sickly lately. Nothing that every other kid in town doesn't already have. Constant runny nose. Thankfully, she has learned to blow her nose and she thinks it's funny to do it, so that works. I would hate the thought of trying to actually hold her down and suction it out!

I gotta run. Blog ya later!

Potty Progress?

It probably won't be major to mom's who have potty trained in the past, but this is a big deal to me. Miss K hates the potty. She would sit on it fully clothed, but take her clothes off and she would freak. I thought it was the little potty that she hated, so I bought one of those inserts that you put into your regular toilet seat. She freaked at that too. We decided not to push it. We took the potty with us to Michigan and it basically just took up space. It came home and had just been sitting downstairs collecting dust...lots of dust. We are trying to get the house ready for all our Christmas company, so I cleaned the potty all up and brought it upstairs. It made it as far as the hallway, but not to the bathroom. So, this evening, I see Miss K carrying it down into the bonus room. She leave it at the bottom of the stairs, runs over and asks me to take her shirt off. I take if off. "Now pants, Mommy. I do diaper." She takes the diaper off and runs for the potty! She sat on it for a long time. Then she got up and acted like she was flushing it. She sat on it a couple of times before she decided she wanted her diaper back on. Now, she didn't go in the potty, but I think she is getting the idea. Brian and decided that we weren't going to push it and were going to wait until the first of the year to actively start trying to get her to use the potty. Yeah! The day before Thanksgiving I told Miss K, "All Mommy wants for Christmas is for you to use the big girl potty." "No Mommy!" "Mommy will even buy you Dora big girl panties." "Okay Mommy!" I need to find that potty training book I bought this summer and start getting ready!

I'm a big baby

So, I had my second dentist appointment this week yesterday. I really like my dentist. She's a hoot. Anyway, I have a bunch of dental work, all minor, that needs to be done. I am trying to max out my insurance for the year. I had two appointments this week and then I have another one in a week or so. That's the big "let's block two hours out" appointment. I know you are thinking...OMG! Hollye has rotten teeth. Not the case! I guess you could call this "proactive dental work". She just wants to treat small places before they become rotten teeth. Am I explaining this very well? ANYWAY. So, I went in on Wednesday. Sit down. They give me the numbing gel. The dentist comes over, turns the gas (I love the gas)on and then gives me like 5 shots in my gums. I felt it. It hurt. Ouch. So, she goes off to treat another patient while I am getting good and numb. I sit there. And sit there. I'm freezing. I'm still sitting. She finally comes back, apologizes for taking so long and starts drilling. I about came out of my skin. She could tell by the look of horror on my face that I felt every single bit of the drilling. She poked my lip and asked me if I could feel it. YES!!!! She cranked the gas back up and gave me about 5 more shots. Let's just say...I couldn't feel the left side of my face for HOURS.

So, today is my day to stay home. No running around or anything like that. Well, I thought. I forgot the I made a playdate with one of K's little friends for later this afternoon. I hate to cancel because she has been talking about this friend all day when she heard me on the phone talking to hr friend's mom. Maybe we will go and stay for an hour. Luckily, they live less than a mile from us. Maybe I can get a few things done before we head over there. I NEED to get my cookie recipe picked our for all the cookie exchanges that I am in. I've got so much to do!

Blog ya later!

I can't even think of a title...

I am so glad Thanksgiving is over. Family stresses me out sometimes and this was one of those times. I also want to use this blog post to announce my retirement from party planning. I will not throw a shower of any kind, birthday or retirement party for anyone other than my husband or child. At least I know that they are thankful.
So, today I took Miss K to the Stingray Reef at Opry Mills. Those little suckers are creepy, but cool. A lot of the kids that we went with were really into touching them. The mommies...not so much. But, it's a great deal Tuesdays are buy one get one free. Admission is $3.95 for all day! And hey...kids 2 and under are FREE! So, my friend and I got in for $4 and change and our 3 kids got in free. We bought shrimp to feed the rays. Those were BOGO too. But, this mommy was scared of the rays and just threw the shrimp in. I did TRY to feed them by hand, but I chickened out. K kept telling me...Feed them Mommy! There were also seahorses that K loved and kept
asking if we could ride them. The best thing...the carousel. You can ride it all you want...for free with admission! We just stayed on it and rode it about 10 times in a row. Then we went and had lunch...came back and rode some more. Also got two more Christmas gifts bought. Oh...make that three! I am almost done. Brian has given me a couple of ideas, but I need to wait for payday to finish my shopping. Can't wait to be done. I've got a LOT of stuff to do between now and Christmas. My brother and his family are coming for the holidays and I can not wait! We are going to have such a blast. But before they get here, I have THREE cookie exchanges to attend, one of which I am hosting. I also have two more dentist appointment and a bunch of other things. I really need to work on my calendar this week to make sure I don't overbook myself like I usually do.

Okay, I have to get to bed. My child has school tomorrow and get to spend my second day this week at the dentist office. Trying to max that dental insurance out!

Blog ya later!

And so the holidays begin....

We are in Michigan to start our Thanksgiving holidays with the inlaws. Thanksgiving on Thursday. Shopping on Friday. Baby shower on Saturday. Family Christmas party on Saturday. Yes...family Christmas party before December even gets here. Don't get me started on that whole situation. I've already had a heated discussion with my inlaws and Brian about it this evening. It ended with all of us laughing because we all agree that this party is stupid. All because a couple of family members thinks that they can not have a Christmas party without the ENTIRE family in attendance. If it wasn't for the shower, we would pack up and be out of here first thing Saturday morning. My husband's extended family is wacky. And wacky is a nice word compared to what I REALLY want to say!

What a dummy

Yep...talking about myself. Miss K has school photos today. (How cute is a class picture of 2 & 3 year olds going to be???) She's all dressed in one of her cutie dresses from Gymboree. (Yep...another Gymboree outfit. It's an addiction. I need a 12-step program.) She looked so adorable and was swishing the dress around and laughing about it. She even thought the bow looked cute this morning. I took her outside and she let me take some pictures of her and it was so sweet. I get home. Pull the camera out. NO MEMORY CARD.

Dummy. Dummy. Dummy.