For my Aunt Leslie

Several years ago we found out that we that my Aunt Leslie had cancer. I started the LONG process of growing out my hair. I didn't know that it would be such a long process to get your hair to grow out long enough to cut off all of the dyed and processed hair. November of 2010, I started growing it out--all natural hair.

In August of 2011, my sweet Aunt Leslie passed away. She was the most amazing, sweetest, God-fearing woman! She was not afraid of dying like most, but instead was content with her fate--she was going to get to walk the streets of gold with Jesus someday and she embraced that fact.

A few days ago I finally did it-- I cut my hair all off and in my aunts name, I am donating it to Pantene's Beautiful Hair. Which is a great organization that makes wigs for cancer patients for no cost.

I miss you Aunt Leslie, but I know that I will someday see you again!

Parenting while sick...

SUCKS!

It's a vicious cycle-- take enough medicine to where I don't feel sick, but then I'm loopy. I have to keep my children alive right?! I can't just call in sick to parenting. The last week I have slept- if you can even call it that- sitting up on the couch and I am EXHAUSTED. No dramatics here. I am literally so fatigued that I can't function properly half of the time. I found my tooth brush in the fridge yesterday and put my blinker on to turn in to my driveway (which is on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere). I'm losing it folks.

So since I have been sick, Claire's second birthday has come and gone and I have had zero energy to do anything about it. So, in comes Aaron to the rescue. My amazing husband called family and planned a little get together after church on Sunday. It turned out perfect! It was relaxed and low stress and best of all Claire had a blast.

P.s. I went to the doctor yesterday because I was up the night before coughing so hard that I kept having asthma attacks (I dont have asthma) it scared me pretty bad so I sucked it up and went in. I was given an inhaler and cough medicine with codeine. I'm sure I would have had the best night sleep in a while had Claire not decided to not sleep last night.... The joys of motherhood.

P.p.s. Claire got a training toilet for her birthday... So it begins....

Princess'

Oh girls....

What was my fear before having Emily? Girly things: glitter, pink, dress up, etc. It scared me to death. Fast forward 6 years later and I'm virtually immune to the color pink. (true story: boy things scare me. Trucks? Tractors? Blue? Wieners... I wouldn't know how to change a boy diaper if my life depended on it)

Emily got invited to a birthday party for my bosses daughter Addie. Addie just turned 5 and she was having a "Barbie rockstar" party. I felt a little bit of that old panic sink in. Pink. Girls. Glitter. Panic. I went and bought Emily the most sparkly, pink dress I could find and took a deep breath. Emily ended up having a BLAST. She blended in with all the other swirls of pink that I assumed were hyper 5 year olds. Here is a picture of her with the birthday girl. They honestly could be sisters.

Bribery

Speaking of bribery...

I also learned at Claire's doctors appointment that she is behind in her speech. We already suspected this since her sister could say "what's that?" at 9 months but we were always told not to compare our kids. Now don't misunderstand me... Claire is a mini-genius! (maybe even smarter than her sister, but we aren't comparing remember) She took her first steps at a few days shy of 8 months old and was running by 11 months. She can climb ANY obstacle you put in front of her and , honestly could probably ride a bike without training wheels. Her motor skills are off the charts! Also, her receptive skills are amazing also. You can give her multiple step directions (such as "put your plate in the trash, your spoon in the sink and give your fork to Emily" and she does it no problem) However, she just isn't there when it comes to expressing herself. She has a very limited word bank for her age. On the same note though, she gets her point across for what she wants with pointing and "uh huh" or "nuh uh" (yes and no).

So what is a mom to do?! BRIBERY. This actually came to me by professional advice so I may be on to something here. Every time Claire says a word to express something that she wants, she gets an m&m. So far, it's worked beautifully. She learned how to say "candy" in about 10 seconds. :)

A ball of sushine

That's what the sticker on Claire's shirt says from her doctors appointment today. Claire is 35 inches and 30.5 pounds (the same weight as her sister at 4 1/2 -- no joke) She's my chunk-butt!

She got one shot. This was the first appointment where she knew it was coming, but she didn't put up much of a fight. Why? You ask. What AMAZING parenting leads me to have well behaved children in the doctors office? What's that? You want to know my secret?

Lean close and listen...

BRIBERY! I'm not above it. I'm not even above giving my children ice cream as breakfast because they were perfect angels in the doctors office. So all of you behavioralist nazis can just shush because while you're sweating bullets because I have to step over your melting down 2 year old in the hallway, I'm basking in the glory of bribed children.

The rest of my day however is sure to be a nightmare since I got zero sleep last night from this cold and Claire's going to be moody and site. Maybe I will take Emily to school and then take a nap.

HA! Fat chance.

Ferocious!

This is my ferocious beast--Roger. I love this cat to pieces. We inherited him when we moved (Along with a few other cats that the previous owner didn't want). They randomly came to visit Roger not too long ago and said that he looked healthy and happy. (Thanks...?) They also let me know that he was fixed and his previous name was "Rex". (Thanks again but there are several kittens around here that bear a remarkable resemblance to him and he comes to Roger) annoyed face). {insert annoyed face} He also does a pretty good job or keeping all of the mice away. Our new house is a run down mobile home from the 1970's that was placed in the middle of a field in the country. Mice are enviable, but guys what?! We haven't seen evidence of a single one in the year we've been here. He also keeps the squirrel population down...note his handsome fat face.

Speaking of ferocious... The flu is taking its toll on this family! I'm sick of being sick! Last night Aaron and I woke up Claire with our coughing at about 4:30 and for whatever reason she stayed awake. So now, guess who naps while mom runs errands on zero sleep.

Sometimes I wish I could throw a fit like a two year old and nap whenever I want.

Back at it?

Maybe. The beauty of technology and smart phones is that some genius computer nerd out there has formulated this thing called the app store. While my parents were visiting this weekend, I got the "blog lecture" which pretty much translate to the fact that I suck at documenting my children. So I had this bright idea (that I was hoping would make me a millionaire). WHAT IF there was an app that allowed me to upload from my phone while I was on the go... And GUESS WHAT?! someone already invited it. Flush my hopes and dreams of being a millionaire right down the drain.

However... the beauty of my discovery is that with any luck (I type this as my 2 year old has a meltdown on the floor at my feet) is that I will begin to make a habit out of blogging again. Don't everyone applaud at once.

Over the course of time I hope to update everyone on the amazing things that have happened in the last few year and a half-- new job, school, moving, children's milestones, and dreams for our future.

For now, I leave you will an updated picture of my girls: