Happy Birthday Brooklyn

My sweet Brooklyn turned 7 over the weekend.  I can't believe how big she is getting.  It's almost hard for me to remember her as a baby.  Anyone else feel that way with their kiddos?  I went up to her school on Friday and spent time with her at lunch and bought ice cream for all the kids in her class to help celebrate.  I love to watch her interact with her friends.

Brooklyn, I am so proud to be your mama.  You are becoming such a beautiful girl inside and out.  You love to read and you still love maps.  I don't think that will ever change.  You love to play with your hermit crab.  You take him out and let him crawl around on the floor and on your hand.  I have to remind you sometimes to put him back in his cage so he doesn't run loose.  You are learning to ride your bike without training wheels and you just completed your very first triathlon.  Soccer is starting and I cannot wait to watch you play.  Most importantly, I love your heart.  I love how you love Jesus and your desire to help others warms my heart. 

I love you to the moon and back sweet girl.  Mommy

Slumber Party

I can't say that I am fully recovered from this weekend, but I am getting there.  You see, I had 8 4, 5 and 6 year olds at my house on Friday night for a slumber party.  Some of you are probably thinking, has this chick lost her mind.  The answer is quite possibly, yes.  I really don't know what I was thinking when I told Brooklyn she could invite some friends over to spend the night for her 6th birthday. 

The girls ate pizza, made a craft (I'll post at a later date a fun thing to do with your child), Brooklyn opened presents, ate cake, played Wii Dance and then ate popcorn and watched a movie.  By 11:00 I was pooped, but they were still going.  I let them watch another movie.  Earlier in the day, I had told my girls that if they took a nap they could stay up as late as they wanted.  Again, what was I thinking?  Well they took that message to heart.  They were all still up at 1 am.  Yes you heard me right.  1 am.  Finally the birthday girl crawled in her bed and was out.  Then Sydney followed.  One of the girls was missing her mommy, so I had to make a phone call to her mom at 1:30 in the morning.  My poor friend Brandi had to come pick her daughter up.  Sorry girl.  Then it was time for Brooklyn's friend Gracie to miss her mommy and daddy.  Luckily she lives one house over so I walked her home.  By then the only 2 left were my nieces and they were stuck.  :)  They ended up falling asleep quickly.

Needless to say, I took a 3 hour nap with my girls yesterday.  I couldn't see straight I was so tired.  It had been a long week with family in town and Brooklyn's first 2 days of kindergarten.  Thankfully it was a fun week and many memories were made.  Isn't that what it's all about?

I'm going to post more this week of Brooklyn's party with pictures.  I think I took about 100 and I am too tired to go through and edit them, so I will leave you with an awesome video of the girls doing Wii Dance.  The best part of the night was when Brooklyn said to me, "This is the best day ever".

It's My Birthday and I'll Cry If I Want To

Today is my 39th birthday.  There I said it.  I feel much better now.  Holy cow.  Where did the time go?  It seems like yesterday I was turning 29 and freaking out I was on the verge of 30.  This time around on the verge of 40, I am actually ok with 39.  Really I am.  Ok maybe I am talking my self into being ok with it right now, but what choice do I have, right?

I spent most of the day cleaning house and doing laundry.  Thrilling I know, but it had to be done.  We are leaving tomorrow right after the girls get out of school to go to Indiana, so I had no choice but to do it all today.  Thankfully, the girls and I took a nap around 2:00 and slept for 2 hours.  Love those days when I can snuggle with my girls in a dark cozy room.

Brian and the girls took me to a restaurant called Omikoshi's for dinner.  It was so yummy.  The girls love to watch the food being made in front of them.  Brooklyn was scared of the fire at first, but quickly got over it and started taking pictures of the flames. 

Brian made my day when he brought home

Sweet Sydney Kate

Dearest Sydney,

Happy 4th birthday my sweet baby.  How is it that you are already 4?  It seems like yesterday your daddy and I were driving to the hospital that early Friday morning in March.  I was so excited and a little nervous to have another baby in the house.  Brooklyn was so excited to become a "big sister" although at 19 months I don't think she really knew what that truly would mean. 

The moment I laid eyes on you, I just cried.  I was so happy you were here, safe and sound.  I couldn't wait to hold you.  You were so beautiful.  You looked just like your daddy and still do.

I love how sensitive and caring you are.  If you see someone hurt, you run to them and ask them if they are ok.  When you hear an ambulance, you say, "Mommy stop.  We have to pray for them".  I love how at night when I am putting you to bed you say, "Mommy pray for me.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to come and for Satan to go away".  You love me to sing Jesus Loves Me while I scratch your back.  You favorite thing to do is cuddle with me.  Will you still want to cuddle with me when you are 13?

I love how rough and tumble you are.  You will run daddy over just like a linebacker.  You fall and get hurt and you just get up and keep on going.  I think the tough exterior you put on is really just a front for the princess you like to be.  You love to dance and sing.  I love to listen to you make up songs.  Syd, it won't surprise me one bit if you grow up to be a singer and a dancer.  You love to be on stage.  You aren't afraid of people.  You love to go up to complete strangers and ask them their names.

You love your big sister so much.  When she's gone on Fridays at school you don't know what to do by yourself.  You miss her.  The first thing you do when you see her is say, "Hello sissy" and you give her hugs and kisses.  That means the world to me. 

You are so strong willed.  I know sometimes that gets on mommy's nerves and sometimes I yell and lose my patience with you and for that I am sorry.  I want you to know that I love that about you.  I love that you are fiesty, stubborn, and not afraid to speak your mind.  That will come in handy for you when you get older.

Most importantly Sydney Kate, I want you to know just how blessed I am to be your mommy.  I am so glad God gave me you.  You are my life and I love you to the moon and back.  Keep loving Jesus and keep praying for all the sippy cups. :)

A Very Merry UnBirthday, To Me!

Sydney's birthday is actually next week, but since next week is Spring Break, I decided to have her party early so most of her friends could come.  I'm glad I did.  She had a wonderful ballerina party for her 4th birthday.  11 little girls came over to the house and we set up the basement so they could twirl and dance til their hearts content.  I hired a real ballerina, Ms. Callie, to come and dance with the girls.  She was fabulous!  She showed them how to put on ballet shoes and she even put up their hair like a ballerina would wear it.



Even Grandma Sara, Brian's mom, got into it.  She was helping the girls touch their toes.  She is one flexible grandma if I do say so myself.

Sneak Peak

I'm finally sitting down at the computer for the first time in 4 days.  It's been a crazy weekend, but a wonderful weekend too.  Thursday after Sydney got home from school she said her head hurt really bad.  She's never complained of a headache so I knew something was up.  I felt her forehead and she felt warm to me.  I took her temp and she had a low grade fever of 99.7.  I am fearful of fevers with her because she's had 2 febrile seizures, which are awful, and so now at the slightest hint of a fever I give her Motrin.  I hate giving her medications, but for me it's the lesser of two evils.

I took her to the dr. on Friday because she started to complain that her ear was hurting.  I also had to rule out the flu because her birthday party was on Saturday and I couldn't expose the rest of the kids to the flu if she did have it. 

Afternoon Tea-Brooklyn's Birthday Celebration

Brooklyn had her 5th birthday party yesterday and it was a blast. I asked her about a month ago if she wanted to have a tea party and she said yes. She was so excited! She invited girls from her class at school, along with her cousins and her friend Grace from next door.

I loved seeing all the girls in their pretty dresses and their dolls. Before they ate lunch we went down to the basement and made beaded name bracelets for them to wear. I think more beads ended up on the floor then on their bracelets. They had fun and that's all that mattered.

I served PB&J sandwiches shaped as hearts and ham and cheese sandwiches shaped like flowers. They also ate mac and cheese and fruit.

I'm not sure why Sydney insists on drinking her punch with a spoon. Crazy girl.

I made Brooklyn her very own cupcake. I had never done this before and had no idea how it would turn out, but it turned out fantastic. Everyone loved it, especially Brooklyn.

The beautiful birthday girl. I hope you enjoyed your party Brooklyn. Happy 5th Birthday!

A Party for Zoe

Friday night we had a little birthday party for Zoe. We do this every year, but this year was the first year that the girls really got it. They know who their big sister is and where she lives. They were so excited. I had planned on making a cake, but the day got away from me, so I went to Publix and bought some colorful cupcakes instead. I also bought 6 pink balloons, one for every year she's been gone.

We watched the balloons until they were out of sight. So thankful for my girls.
Brian recorded the party on his iPhone. I love how excited the girls were for their sisssy's party.

We miss you Zoe and we love you very much. We hope you liked your party from Heaven.

Happy Birthday Brooklyn!

My Dearest Brooklyn,

Happy 5th birthday my sweet daughter. 5 years ago, you turned our sorrow into joy when you entered the world. I was so happy to see your face and to hold you for the first time. All the worrying I had done for 9 months had come to an end.

You were here and you were mine. You were perfect in every way.

I love being your mommy. I love watching you grow and explore new things. You are so smart. You love to learn and you love maps and flags. You know all 7 continents and can't point them out on a map. You love to paint and draw. Yesterday I asked you to write some of the words that I said and you got them all right. You spelled cat, dog, and egg.

You love to dress up. You love to wear necklaces, bracelets and hats. You change your outfit at least 3 times a day and sometimes even more. You love to wear dresses. Although today you surprised me and wanted to wear jeans. I couldn't believe it.

At your check up today, you had grown 3 inches and gained 3 pounds in the last year. You are in the 80th percentile for your height and 50 percentile for your weight and BMI. The doctor said if you kept growing this way you would probably be 5'7 when you grow up.

Most importantly Brooklyn, I love how you love Jesus and that makes me happy. You love to sing songs about Him and you have a beautiful voice. I could listen to you and sissy sing your Bible songs all day long. You are also very protective of your sissy. You all will fight, but in the end you love her so much. You are best friends and I am so glad you have each other.

Brooklyn you constantly make me laugh and I love to see those cute dimples of yours. You love to give me hugs and kisses and you like me to tickle your back when I'm putting you to sleep. You are always asking me to put pictures of you on my blog so I thought I would take the pictures of all of the birthdays you've had so far and post them. It's hard to believe you were this little.

(Years 2 & 3 are on my hard drive that I still need to download. Will try to do that this weekend.)



I love you with all of my heart baby girl. You are my pride and joy. Love, Mommy.

Happy Birthday Brian!

Today is my husband's 35th birthday. Yes I robbed the cradle and married a younger man. Thankfully he looks older than me though. :)

It's been a rough week as you all know so I didn't have time to make a cake. Thankfully, my sweet friend Amanda brought us dinner that night and she brought a yummy dessert. Thanks girl.

I couldn't find my candles, but had just bought the 5 candle for Brooklyn's birthday party so we went with it. It's better than nothin' I say.

We love you honey. So thankful you are in our lives. You are the best husband and daddy we could ever want or ask for. Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Me

Today is my 38th birthday. There I said it. That number gets harder and harder to say every year. Why is that? I am thankful to be alive and blessed to be celebrating another birthday so that's how I choose to look at it.

It has been a good day. The best news of the day came this morning when I found out my sister-in-law Kelly, Brian's sister, went into labor with triplets. I am thrilled to share a birthday with my 2 new nephews and my niece and so amazed that she made it to 36 weeks. That was her goal and she did it. Way to go Kelly!

Doesn't she look great? She is all belly I have to say. She made carrying over 17 lbs of baby look easy. I can't imagine.

The babies were born at 12:04 p.m. & 12:05 p.m. today. Walker Nicholas weighed in at 5 lbs, 13 oz, Jane Violet weighed 5 lbs, 4oz and Quentin Sawyer was the biggest at 6 lbs, 1oz. Mommy and babies are doing great. As soon as I get some pictures I will post them. I can't wait to hold them next weekend and I can't wait for Brooklyn and Sydney to see them. We've been praying for these babies for 9 months.

I should tell you that Kelly also has twins who are 7, Spencer and Caroline. I know they will be such a big help to their parents. I am thrilled for you guys and love you all.

Tonight we went to Omikoshi's for my birthday dinner. If you aren't familiar with it, it's like Shoguns where they cook the food right in front of you. I didn't know how the girls would do at such a nice restaurant, but they did great. At first they were afraid of the fire, but then they got used to it. They were in ah over how the guy threw around his knives. Sydney said, "Mommy I can do that when I get bigger". If you practice hard you just might be able to baby girl, but for now I will keep the knives up high and out of reach.

It was such a fun night with my family and I continue to stand amazed at how He has blessed me. I have a wonderful husband and 2 beautiful girls that make me laugh and feel so loved every day.

No, I didn't forget about my Tuesday's Tip, so here it is. We used this tonight for my birthday dinner. It's a website called 10best.com and it's awesome. Brian bought a $25 gift certificate for Omikoshi's for $3 (it was originally $10 for a $25 dollar certificate, but if you enter a coupon code you get it for $3). Yep you read it right, just $3. Here is how it works. You find the restaurant you want to go to, pay $3 and then print the certificate and take it to the restaurant. It's that simple. Each restaurant is different, but for the one tonight we had to spend $35 to use it. So basically if you work the menu, you can get out of their for $13 plus tax and tip. We spent a little more at $20, but it was so worth it. All 4 of us had soup and salad, chicken and fried rice and veggies (Brian had top sirloin) and then ice cream for dessert. Now that's a deal. I also have heard that restaurants.com is great as well.

Check it out and see what deals you can find.

Happy Birthday Sydney Kate

Dearest Sydney Kate,


Happy Birthday baby girl. I cannot believe you are 3 already. How can this be? You are growing up into a beautiful little princess. I am so proud to be your mommy.

I'm not sure if I've ever told you the story about how mommy and daddy decided on your name. I thought today would be a good day to do that. We always knew your name would be Sydney if you were a girl. Your daddy and I love to travel and Sydney is a place we have always wanted to go.


We had two middle names picked out for you and we were having a hard time deciding between the two. In fact, we didn't figure it out until you were 2 days old. It was between Kate and Grace. I remember the nurse coming in and telling us we had to make a decision because the hospital wanted to print up your birth certificate.

As you know the rest of the story, we decided on Kate. Sydney Kate Lord. We love your name. We hope you do too. It suits you so well. We realized shortly after you were born that your name matched two of our favorite characters from our favorite shows. Sydney Bristow from Alias and Kate Austen from LOST. The similarities are a little freaky. Both girls have brown hair. Both girls have dark eyes. So do you. They are both strong, athletic and fiesty. So are you.

You love to run and tackle daddy. You will run and fall down and get back up like it's no big deal. You love to climb on top of the kitchen island and scale the back of the couch. You are all tom boy. Not sure if that will last, but for now, you are thrilled if you are going 100 miles an hour.

I love you to the moon and back,
Mommy

Brooklyn's 4th birthday party

We had Brooklyn's 4th birthday party on Friday the 21st at our neighborhood pool. Everyone had a blast. We were so excited that all of daddy's family could come down from Indiana to help celebrate. PeePaw, Grandma Sara, Grandpa Roland, Auntie Kelly, Uncle Dave, cousins Caroline and Spencer, and of course all of my family too. She also got to invite a few friends from school. It was a bug themed party because she is so into bugs right now. I found a really cute caterpillar cupcake idea online that I copied. It was alot of fun to make and the kids loved it.

Everyone had fun going swimming. We were fortunate that the rain held off and it turned out to be a very hot day.
The swimmers worked up a hearty appetite so it was time for pizza and yummy cupcakes.

After the party the family headed back to our house to open up presents. Brooklyn was blessed with a lot of neat gifts. Thank you to all who came and made Brooklyn's 4th birthday a day to remember.

Happy 4th Birthday Brooklyn Sophia!

Dear Brooklyn,

Today is your 4th birthday. It's hard to believe that 4 years ago today I walked into Baptist Hospital early in the morning with you in my belly. I had waited so many years for this moment and it was finally here. Your daddy and I were admitted into the room and they gave me some medication to help me to have some contractions so you would come out. You were stubborn and didn't want to move. You were very happy in my belly. The doctor came in and broke my water, but still nothing. Then your heart rate started to go down so we decided it was best for you to come out through a c-section. I was a little scared, but so excited to finally meet you. Daddy sat right beside me and held my hand and talked to me the whole time. Then at 4:06 p.m. I heard the most amazing sound in the world, your cry. Not a little wimper, but a huge scream. I just began to cry. You were so beautiful and big. You were 10 days early and weighed, 7 lbs 9 oz and were 20 inches long. You had a little bit of blond hair and blue eyes. The first thing I noticed was your dimples. They were so cute. I couldn't wait to hold you. I couldn't believe that everything your daddy and I had been through was finally in our arms. You were a miracle and God's greatest gift to us.

I am so blessed to be your mommy. You are growing into such a beautiful little girl and I am so proud of you. I love how you take care of your sissy, how you love to give hugs and kisses and the joy I feel when you say, "Mommy I love you". You are so smart just like your daddy. You love to read maps and learn about bugs and you love to sing. I love when you are in the car and you sing "Jesus Loves Me" at the top of your lungs. That is what matters most to me sweet girl. That you walk with Jesus and love Him with all of your heart. I pray that He will keep you safe in His loving arms and that you will continue to grow into a beautiful young woman.

I love you with all of my heart Brooklyn,

Mommy

Happy Birthday Brian & Tuesday's Tip.

Today is Brian's 34th birthday. The girls and I made him a chocolate cake this morning. The only time the girls are allowed to sit on the counter is when they are baking with mommy. I had their aprons made by a friend of mine. They are so cute and the girls love to wear them. Also one of my tips for a great gift idea for a child who loves to bake or cook with their mommy. You can check out her site here: http://www.institches.hobbies.homepagenow.com/?txnid=91744ab993e5305b97fce0cd70c25d49

Daddy came home on his lunch break and we had a cake, balloons, cards and a DVD waiting for him. He was so surprised. The girls love it when daddy can come home for lunch. One of the many advantages of working about 7 minutes from home.
Happy Birthday to the best husband and daddy in the world. The girls and I love you very much.

Ok, on to Tuesday's Tip. Thank you to all those that have told me they look forward to reading my tips on Tuesday. I'm so glad you enjoy them. I will try to keep them coming and not disappoint you. This one I have been doing for about 4 years. When I run across an article or something I see in a magazine that I want to keep, I rip it out and put it in my file. That way you can recycle the magazine and not have to keep it collecting dust. The categories are endless. From time to time I go back and take out the ones that are of no interest to me any longer.

My last tip of the day is coupon websites. I try not to buy things at a store without a coupon. Yesterday I needed a 40% off at JoAnn's and so I started looking. Low and behold I found one at "Mommy Saves Big Blog http://printable-coupons.blogspot.com/2005/12/jo-anncoupons.html My other favorite is http://www.couponcabin.com/ There are so many websites that can save you money. You just have to look. http://www.faithfulprovisions.com/ is another one that I like. Kelly lives in my neighborhood and her daughter was in Brooklyn's class this past year. Her savings at the grocery store are truly amazing. She offers classes where you can learn about how she's able to save so much money on groceries. Happy saving!