Wordless Wednesday

Mattea - Part 2

I'm absolutely lovin Mattea's pictures. I look at them and smile - realizing what an amazing little girl she is. Truly - if you have not had the privilege of interacting with her, your missing out. Granted, I'm sure all moms would say the same things about their children, but truly I believe Mattea's spirit is one of a kind. No words can describe how incredibly sweet & sensitive she is. She is special in more ways than one. We love you dearly sweet girl.

Meet My Newest 4 Year Old

Here are just a couple of shots from Mattea's 4 year old photo shoot. I think she was feeling a bit serious yet sassy that night - her pics surely reflect that. I'll be posting a few more this evening or tomorrow morning so be sure to check back. I can't believe how much my baby is growing up....

Too Cute Tuesday

The Frustrated Faces Of A Two Year Old

Crazy Guys, Rainbows, and More

As the girls and I were driving in the car this evening to meet daddy for his birthday dinner at a fabulous Mexican Restaurant, I commented on this beautiful rainbow that appeared after a very light rain.

Me: Hey girls, look out your window at this pretty rainbow. Do you know who makes rainbows.

Mattea: God

Me: That's right, God makes rainbows

Suddenly, both Mattea and I hear a blurbish whisper coming from Paloma's carseat, "dkladirue, soiejrlksekl"

Me: What did you say Loma?

Mattea: She said the crazy guys.

Me: What crazy guys?

Mattea: Loma, do you mean the crazy guys made the rainbow?

Paloma: Yes!

Me: Paloma who are the crazy guys?

Paloma: Jejus and Dod

Me to Mattea: What is she saying back there?

Mattea: Jesus and God mom - those are the crazy guys who made the rainbow.

No reply!

Daddy's Cards

Mattea recently received a "Card Making Kit" from her Aunt Kim for her recent 4th birthday. And what a better occasion to finally crack it open and dig into creativity than today - daddy's birthday. This morning, the girls and I snuck into the office and destroyed the place - literally. We laid out crayons, glue, glitter, feathers, markers, stickers, etc. and began creating daddy's fabulous birthday cards. We absolutely love this gift. So simple and easy.

Passing Time

Today was a beautiful spring day & we made sure to take full advantage of it.
With not a cloud in the sky, we headed outside after nap time for a little "nature hike" to pass time until dad came home.



There is a park across the street from our house - but it literally has a few leaves, some sticks, moss, and a few hidden treasures within it. The girls always think it is a big deal to go for their "nature hike." Good thing they packed their buckets with them this time.



Currently, both girls are obsessed with moss. They love looking at it, touching it, picking it, growing it.... Yeah - kind of weird. Anyways, the above picture is of Paloma's finds. She picked up some moss, some leaves, and a golf ball.



Mattea's bucket - of course - was overflowing with things like moss, leaves, sticks, "seeds" for her birds, and this weird red headband she found in the tree. They were both pleased with their finds and couldn't wait to come home and "plant their moss" in the garden. Oh, we can almost feel spring around the corner.....

FYI

I just got done updating my new business website which can be found on my sidebar. Please take a minute to click on over there and check out my latest business adventure. I am super excited about this new opportunity and welcome the chance to speak with anyone about it. I will be posting a more in depth look at ACN and what the company is doing for me and my family - but for now - take a peak!

www.nurseheather.acnrep.com

Wordless Wednesday - kind of!

(Truly a nurses child - look at where the syringe is aimed for!)

Too Cute Tuesday

I'm Tagged - Now Your It

THE RULES:Step 1: respond and rework—answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.Step 2: tag—eight other untagged people.

Make a list of things you can see without getting up: A beautiful picture of me & my girls, an ultrasound picture of Paloma, two sleeping dogs, 2 tubs of old baby clothes.

Favorite football team: What a joke! I hate football.


What are you wearing now? The same workout clothes I wore this morning when I did my 5 mile run - yep, in need of a shower.

What color is your bedroom? Mocha brown. I've painted the girls' rooms but haven't gotten around to our room yet.

What’s the last thing you read/are currently reading? The book of Esther for Bible Study.

Do you nap a lot? Seriously! Who has time?

Who was the last person you hugged? My sweet husband as he walked out the door for yet another out of town business commitment.

What’s your current obsession/addiction? Scrapbooking, blogging, and now running. I told Dave I'm trying to make the cover or Runners World - HA!

What was the last thing you said aloud?
"I love you & drive safely"

What Web sites do you always visit when you go online?
My business site and various blogs.

What was the last thing you bought?
An awesome cup of coffee after my run.

What are you listening to right now? Silence.

What is something you wish you could do more? Quiet time with my husband - the chances together are so rare!

What gives you hope? My Lord

What is your favorite weather, and why? Fall - the weather is nice, but not too hot and the foliage is amazingly beautiful! And I love pumpkins & caramel apples

What time do you usually get up? I have been getting up everyday between 5:30-6:00AM. If I beat the kids up by 1-2 hours, I am the best mom in the world. That time to myself does wonders for my psyche. Of course, I've had to train myself and remain disciplined but it is well worth it.

What is your most challenging goal right now?
Introducing my children to Christ and helping them grasp who He is and what He can do!

If you could have a house–totally paid for, fully furnished–anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be? Anywhere as long as my husband and kids remain within the walls

Favorite vacation spot? Well, since we have Disney booked in April, I'm thinking that will become our new favorite vacation spot

What is your favorite children’s book? Guess How Much I Love You & Gigi God's Little Princess

Name one thing you just can’t resist no matter how bad it is for you:
Chocolate & Coffee

Have you ever met anyone famous? If I did I can't remember

If you could have any job in the world , what would it be?
A Starbucks Barista

Who is the last person you talked to?
David

What was the last thing you ate? A pita from Pita Pit - compliments of my man!


(My new question) If you had to give up one thing in your life, what would it be? I'd forfeit it all for the sake of my Lord and Savior. After all, isn't that what He did for me?

I'm officially tagging - Kelly R., Kim H., Kim R., Amanda J., Emily, Merranda,

Mattea Update

Hold onto your hats - your never going to believe this....



Mattea had her 4 year old well child check today. Her growth has been phenomenal. She weighed in at a whopping 33lbs 6oz (30%) and height was 40 inches (58%). Those numbers are unheard of for this family. I don't think we've ever been close to the 50% for anything. She was quite proud of herself. The photo was taken just after the nurse had her change into her "fancy" gown and right before her 3 rounds of immunizations. She cried of course but was so brave and was worried more about her band aids than her shots. It was a great visit and Mattea is progressing and developing right on track. Good job baby girl!

Mattea Moment

Tonight, the girls and I dove into creative play after dinner. And of course, when my girls are involved, something funny is bound to happen.

After playing "preschool" Mattea asked me if we could play "hospital." I said sure and she demanded that she be the patient. I pleaded with her saying "I'm always the nurse." But I did not win. So she went to lay down in her makeshift hospital bed in her cozy little cottage house and waited for her nurse (me) to come. When I came over to assess my patient, this is the conversation that followed:

Me: Hi little girl, what is your name (as I am digging in my medical bad for my stethoscope - my Littman nonetheless)

Mattea: Mattea

Me: What seems to be the problem today Mattea. (Lately diagnosis of choice has been a broken leg for both girls.)

Mattea: I have a baby coming out of my tummy.

Whoa! Wait - stop - rewind. What!!!!! Dumbfounded. I stopped, looked at her and with a blank expression and drool falling down my face, I said, "You what?"

Mattea: I have a baby coming out of my tummy -with a little snicker.

Me: Oh, well that is a problem. I'll help you Mattea.

Then I asked her who told her she had a baby coming out of her tummy. Because there are two pregnant moms at preschool I thought maybe she was curious about them, or I considered her rehashing the dreadful days when I had a baby in my tummy.

She looked right at me after I said "Mattea who told you you have a baby in your tummy?"

Mattea: Loma (Paloma) did.

Paloma: I did - I did. I have a baby toming out a hole in my tummy toooooo!

I just started laughing - snorting actually and the kids followed suite. How in the world was I going to explain this to their father.

Not Me Monday

A very special thank you to MckMama for hosting Not Me Monday. Head on over and check out the plethora of mothers who are just as perfect as me - just kidding.

And now...

1. This week I did not indulge (binge rather) on 4 year old birthday cake therefore blowing my weight watchers diet to the moon. I'm not sure you are allotted 50 points a day when you really aren't working out except to raise your fork from the cake to your mouth repeatedly. No not me.

2. I absolutely did not resort to "drugging" or should I say medicating my child (eldest child mind you) with Benadryl because her naughtiness was absolutely absurd and I just couldn't take one more tantrum. I figured she needed sleep and she had a runny nose - justification enough. Absolutely not me.

3. I did not reach into my back pocket while on a recent shopping trip in hopes of pulling out my coupons only to find a handful of squished crackers. Gross. Not me.

4. After a feeble attempt to decorate for my daughter's 4th birthday, I did not resort to using medical tape to hang her coveted Tinkerbell banner above the fireplace. Being the ultra organized mom that I am, I most certainly would have planned ahead on one of my 1000 trips to the store this week to purchase a roll of scotch tape. I then didn't lie to my daughter about why her banner kept falling down - gently explaining that the fireplace was just so clean that the banner just wouldn't stay up - oooooh not me.

5. I absolutely did not bribe my children to do what I said on a recent morning with a pack of those Valentines Day Hearts that I happened to find in the closet. And if I did, it most certainly would have been more sophisticated than this for example....
Mattea, line up at the door and be the line leader - you'll get a green heart.
Paloma, put on your shoes and you'll get a pink heart.
Mattea - Mattea - I said for the millionth time, pick up your dolls. You'll
get a white heart.
Paloma, eat your supper - you'll get a yellow heart.
I obviously am a much better mom than that and most certainly would never resort to bribery - especially candy. Nope - not me.

6. And last but not least.........
I did not stop at the park this week during one of our 40 degree high days and let the kids run around until they just couldn't run anymore. I didn't happen to be the only mom there for awhile. I did not chase my kids silly - up and down the slides - around the water fountains, pushing them back and forth on the swings, hanging on the monkey bars. I did not look up to see that they both had a copious amount of snot running down their faces and not a tissue in sight. I did not freak out for a moment realizing I went to the park unprepared - gasp. I did not then reach into the pocket of my jacket to find a pantyliner to which I absolutely did not wipe their nose with. Ugh - who in the world would ever do that - certainly not this mommy.

That concludes my rendition of Not Me Monday. Exciting week huh? I'd love to hear about yours. Happy reading and don't forget to jump over to My Charming Kids.

Paloma's Plug

I have been adding snipits of conversations with Mattea and titling them "Mattea Moments." Funny little things she says that I do not ever want to forget. Well, most recently, my youngest Paloma has started adding to the conversations with her vast vocabulary. So to give her credit where credit is due, I now present "Paloma's Plugs."

In a recent car ride to pick up her sister, I cranked up the "Veggie Tales" at Paloma's request. In one of the songs, the word Heaven was used repeatedly. Paloma pipes up from the back seat "whaz heaben" (what's heaven).

I replied "It's where Jesus lives. Are you going to live in heaven some day?"

Quick to reply she proudly proclaims "wif you mama?" Oh baby, yes, with me. You can count on it. I then added "just not anytime soon, honey OK?"

A Day At Rafiki

This morning, our family packed up and headed to an ultra posh indoor play center called Rafiki. I had heard of it from all my other mother friends, but had never had the opportunity to frequent myself. Super cool. We decided that is how we would spend Mattea's birthday.





There was so much to do and each child was able to navigate to their particular area of interest. In one corner there were baby dolls, groceries, kitchen sets, etc & in another corner there were dress up clothes, books, a train table, arts & crafts. In the back they had a climbing structure which enabled the kids to exert some serious energy.



The great thing was that Dave and I cold hang out on one of the leather couches, enjoy a latte, and talk about non-kid matters.



We will definitely be heading back soon.

Happy Birthday

Wishing you a very Happy 4th Birthday my sweet girl!

Date Night With Daddy

Last night Mattea had the privilege of attending the Father/Daughter Ball at church with daddy. What a great way to spend her 4th birthday.



She was able to pick out a new dress, new shoes, get her hair done, nails done, etc. Daddy greeted her with a dozen pink roses (at her request). Dave said it was a lot of fun - Mattea enjoying the snack table best of all. She can't wait to do it again next year - although she'll be sharing her date with her younger sister.



Mattea and daddy made sure to practice their dance moves before bundling up and heading to the "ball."

500th Post

My goodness, can you believe it? Here I am composing my 500th blog post. Who knew after such a short amount of time, I would come to love blogging and even kind of become obsessed with it. Thank goodness for the persistence of my friend Merranda.

So I thought and I thought about what I would like my 5ooth post to be about - and decided this. It is going to be about me. A run down on my life, my beliefs, my emotions, and my craziness. So here goes.

I am a 31 year old mother of two small beautiful little girls. Mattea is turning 4 this Friday and Paloma turned 2 on New Years Eve. They keep me busy and entertained. I love them dearly. They challenge me beyond belief but I am so honored to be called their mother. I married the man of my dreams on Sept 7th, 2002. After meeting at Outback Steakhouse in Onalaska, WI during our senior year of college, we packed a UHaul and headed to New Mexico right after graduation. It is where our journey would begin.

David was such an amazing man from the moment I met him. Despite smelling like women's deodorant, he was attractive, serious, funny, and sarcastic all at the same time. After just ending a heartbreaking engagement, I decided after much prayer to become involved. I think Satan was at work during the beginning of our relationship - since our fairytale start almost ended in disaster. But through persistence, we fought to hold on and have been together ever since. We never once "took a break" or "stopped seeing each other." We have been together from the very beginning. But my story didn't start there - so lets back up.

I grew up in LaCrescent, MN. I know - LaCrescent where? A very small town where my parents have always lived and continue to live. I graduated high school in 1996 and immediately moved out of my parents home to begin college at University of Wisconsin- LaCrosse. I moved in with 4 other girls - which proved to be a very eye opening experience. I made good relationships and I lost relationships during that first year. I learned a lot about my self. Our broken down house that we resided in cost us $60.00 a month and had a potty in the kitchen. Crazy huh? I started out as a Pre-Pharmacy major at the University but quickly realized I was not "smart" enough for the program. Working two jobs and trying to make it on my own - I just couldn't devote the time to the chemistry that I needed. It was after that first year was complete, I transferred to Viterbo College to pursue a degree in nursing.

When I transferred schools, I realized a very good friend of mine from high school was just starting the nursing program as well. Naomi and I stuck it out, studied our hinders off, and had a bunch of fun during the next four years. I am so glad and honored that I was able to graduate alongside of her in 2001.

Not long after graduation, Dave and I headed off to New Mexico where I happened to land a job at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Labor & Delivery - high risk Labor & Delivery might I add. I was way over my head and found myself sad, frustrated, and hating nursing. But during this first year I met two amazing friends whom I miss dearly - Dena and Michelle. All of us continue to be nurses - each branched out in different areas. We still joke and laugh about that first year of nursing and how we were so grateful that we never killed anybody - on accident of course.

On Sept. 7, 2002 Dave and I flew back to LaCrosse, WI to celebrate before family and friends our wedding. I was fortunate to have some close friends fly in and witness the event. It was a memorable day & although I had wanted to elope, the memories are priceless.

From there, life just continued to happen. I continued to work, Dave and I bought a house, celebrated anniversaries, bought a couple of dogs. Soon it was May 2004 when we realized we would be parents for the first time. Completely overjoyed, our focus quickly shifted to preparing our family for the arrival of our first daughter. After Mattea was born in Feb. 2006, I continued to work, Dave continued grad school, and we continued to fall deeper and deeper in love with our baby girl.

It wasn't long before we were planning for baby number 2 who arrived on Dec. 31, 2006. Paloma was a spitfire from the beginning but sweet and lovable nonetheless. The summer of 2007 was busy as we were enjoying our new baby, selling our house, moving cross country, finishing grad school, changing jobs, and managing 2 year old tantrums. Stressful it was, and when I look back I will say that I'm suprised I survived. But we did....

And that is basically where we leave off. We have been at our new home now for almost 2 years. We love it here - more than we can possibly explain. It is a fabulous part of the country and we are blessed that God steered us up here. We continue to work (me not as much), enjoy watching the kids grow, and are finally starting to take time to enjoy each other again. It has definitely been a roller coaster of a ride these last few years but through it all we remain blessed. We have made some great friends and found an amazing church that has provided so much love and support. I am truly in the most "perfect" place in life.

Of course, I have omitted quite a bit of my life over the last few years - some on purpose and some for the lack of time and space. But in a nutshell, that is me. I am a crazy blessed lady who is loving on life right now. So happy reading my friends. Thanks for continuing to follow my blog - some daily. I love it. Feel free to take this opportunity to "delurk" and leave me a comment. I love reading your thoughts and ideas and I love knowing who is "peeking" at my blog. Thanks to all of you who have been with me on this incredible journey.

Parenting 101

Whomever decided that allowing parents to procreate without first reading through an owner's manual was downright foolish. Sorry God - but really! I need a bit of help here. What in the world were we possibly thinking when we decide to become parents. What a selfless, sacrificing job yet underpaid and under honored in so many ways. Now, before you lash back at me about how parenting is so rewarding - read on.

This is not a pity party post - well maybe it is. It certainly isn't meant to be. I truly am using this as an opportunity to spew all of my feeling and emotions at this very point in time.

I know when Dave and I decided to embark on the "parenting journey" we thought we were well prepared - had thought through things, planned for, researched, and even saved up a bit of money for it (not knowing it was not nearly enough). We thought long and hard about how children would fit into our lives and decided it was a good fit. I, having a pediatric nursing background, thought I knew enough to raise children. I had read books, took classes on child development, and even watched a bunch of videos. I was set - right? Boy, was I stinkin wrong. After 4 years, 2 kids, 1.26 million tantrums, 9.3 thousand meltdown/crying sessions, a few spankings, countless timeouts, and more money that I care to count, I have realized I don't have a clue. I don't. I try to read up on the latest 'phase' or newest developmental milestone only to realize that my kids are completely opposite from anything those books have published. So where does that leave me? Navigating through this parenting forest alone, scared, anxious. Not quite.

After having a horrific day with my children yesterday,(the worst ever since I started parenting)I realized that we are not designed to go at this alone. God was a part of our parental journey long before we ever joined in. To think he knew exactly how many hairs would be placed on Mattea's head or how many curls would adorn Paloma's neck is amazing. He designed them and ultimately I am asking him to "run" them. I am fit to be tied with Mattea and am utterly discouraged by her recent behavior. Actually, I'm a bit embarrassed. But I take comfort in knowing that although I don't have an owner's manual, I have something better. I have their Creator. And who better to turn to when I need to know how it works that the One who ultimately holds the blueprints in His hand.

I mean seriously.....



For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my
mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully
and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I kow that full well.

Psalm 139:13-14

Pants Are So Overrated

Untitled

Miss You Monday

"I want my daddeeeeee. Where's my dadeeeeeee?"

We all miss you like crazy honey!

Muffin Tin Monday

Did you all remember that today is Muffin Tin Monday? We did!