Gratitude - Lottie's Pretty New Dresses

This past week I was out shopping for a baby gift for a friend when I came across some really cute dresses at Old Navy.  I am definitely that mom that doesn't buy anything that isn't on sale (especially clothes for the kids). So I picked up 3 new dresses (marked down from $20.00 to $6.50 and 1 really cute tunic (marked down from $20.00 to $6.40) for Lottie to wear next year. Yes, I'm also that mom who is always picking up clothing for next year (or the next size up).

After the girls ate their dinner and got all cleaned up, I told Lottie I had a surprise for her.  She was ecstatic to say the least!  Best of all, she was so grateful for her pretty new dresses!

Poor Stella - in a couple of years, you'll get to wear those pretty not so new anymore dresses!

Love these girls!

Masterpieces - Stella's Latest Art Work

My little Stella just moved up to the Toddler 2 room this past week.  It absolutely blows my mind that my baby will be 2 in 3 short months!  It was nice to see what she's been up to through photos these last few months at school.  I am going to miss her teacher in the Toddler 1 room though.  Ms. Carol loves Stella and can't say enough kind words about what a wonderful child she is.

We are sending Stella's art book / photos to grandma and granddad in England!  They love getting little projects, photos, etc. from the girls.  And let's be honest, you can't keep everything.

The Daily Grind - January 2015

Our Monday through Friday Looks Something Like This................. 

5:30 a.m. 

• Alarm goes off.  I shower, get ready for work, make lunches, make our Nutribullet smoothies for breakfast.
• Steve feeds the girls breakfast in the morning, gets them dressed, teeth brushed and takes them to school every morning.  He manages to get a shower in at some point.  He is pretty much a saint in the mornings.  In the 4 years Lottie has been going to daycare, I have only had to take the girls to school twice. 

6:40 a.m.

• I am out the door and on my way to work.

7:15 a.m.

• Steve takes the girls to daycare and heads to work himself.  He typically works anywhere from 9:00/9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. every day.

7:30 a.m.

• I work every day from about 7:15/7:30 a.m. until 3:00/3:15 p.m.  I don't take a lunch break or have any breaks for that matter throughout the day.  Thankfully after having Stella, I was able to work it out with my boss where I can come in early and leave early avoiding a lot of heavy traffic in between.  

3:15 p.m.

• I head to 9Round in Ballantyne.  It is my happy place.  9Round has been such a huge part of my every day routine for over a year.  I am so thankful I found this place.  The owners are wonderful and I leave there every day feeling a little bit stronger.  It is a fun, challenging 30 minute workout that incorporates boxing, kickboxing, MMA and circuit training.  I love doing pad drills with the trainers.  I swear I feel like Rocky Balboa when I'm there!  

4:15 p.m.

• I head to pick up the kids!  I usually spend about 20 minutes or so at their school talking with teachers about their day.  Stella is so cute - she always runs and tackles me in the afternoon with lots of hugs and kisses. 

5:00 p.m.

• We get home and I start dinner for the kids.  It usually consists of a fruit, veggie and protein.  Unfortunately, through the week, we don't get to sit down to a nice family dinner each night. Steve doesn't usually get home until 7:45/8:00 p.m. With that said, the kids eat together and Steve and I eat together.  The kids usually sit down around 5:30 p.m. for dinner.

6:15 p.m.

• Bath time!  These girls love a bath.  They splash water on one another and all over the bathroom floor.  Then, they fight over who's going to play with which mermaid, Barbie, etc.

6:45 p.m.

• I usually start prepping mine and Steve's dinner.  M-Thurs. - it's usually baked tilapia, mixed green salad and half an avocado each.  It's quick, healthy and doesn't require a lot of time away from hanging with the kiddos.

7:00 p.m.

• I finally sit down to read books with Stella.  She is a little book worm.  She loves reading, so we usually sit reading different books for about 30 minutes.  Lottie is really into puzzles at the minute so she usually sits quietly putting them together.  This is truly my favorite part of the day!

7:30 p.m. 

• Brush Stella's teeth and put her to bed.

7:45 p.m.

• Steve gets home and we eat dinner.

8:15 p.m.

• Brush Lottie's teeth, potty and story time.  She has a folder she brings home every day with a reading log and book inside.  She checks out books at school and brings them home to read each night.  Usually, lights are out around 8:30 p.m.

8:45 p.m.

• I usually fold laundry, get my gym bag ready for the next day, get the kid's school stuff ready, etc.  Sometimes I manage to watch 30 or 40 minutes of t.v. with Steve.  

9:30 p.m.

• I usually start making my way to the bedroom so that I can read for 30 minutes before dozing off.  

Then we do it all over again the next day!  I know our daily grind won't always be this way.  At some point down the road, there will be gymnastics, dance, sports, homework, swimming lessons, etc. thrown into the mix.  So, for now, I will appreciate our current schedule / routine through the week because the older they get, the busier we will be. 

Scooting Into The New Year

We have a beautiful new walking trail around the corner from our house.

The girls loved it, although it took Lottie FOREVER to scoot around the park!  We were moving at a snail's pace.  Practice makes perfect though.  I'm sure in another month or three she'll be gliding around the park!  Stella on the other hand just kept screaming, "GO!!"  I think her and Steve must have passed Lottie and I twice!  :) 

I plan on taking every opportunity this Spring when the weather warms up to scoot, ride, walk, run, skip, you name it and enjoy this gorgeous, wooded park.  

Blake & Lottie Sitting In A Tree........

There absolutely will be no K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

Blake + Lottie = BFF

There is a little guy in Lottie's classroom named Blake.  He and Lottie are best friends.  A couple of funny stories...........

• I ran into Blake's mom a few weeks ago and she stopped me in the hallway and asked if I was Charlotte's mom.  I said yes and she said that her son Blake has the biggest crush on Charlotte.  I laughed.  She went on to say that in the mornings when Blake doesn't feel like getting dressed for school or getting in the car, she will tell him that if he doesn't, he won't get to see Charlotte today.  She says that really gets him motivated to get dressed and in the car!  That really tickled me!  

• Lottie talks about Blake all the time!  But for awhile there, I swear she kept talking about Blake's Daddy.  She would go on and on and on about Blake Daddy.  For the life of me, I couldn't understand why she kept talking about this kid's dad.  She would say how they would play with one another, how much she loved him, etc.  It totally creeped me out!  I even went as far and asked her teacher about it.  She said she had no idea why she would talk about his dad.  She said that he was friendly and talked to all the kids when he was picking up Blake.  This went on for weeks and it drove me insane anytime she would mention "Blake Daddy" which is like 5 or 6 times a day.  Finally, with Lottie's 4th birthday soon approaching, I asked her teacher to get me a list of all the kids in her classroom.  Last week when I received the list, I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief.  For weeks I've been driving myself crazy over this whole Blake Daddy thing.  Come to find out this kid's name is Blake Gaddy!!!!!!!!!!!!  She's just been calling him by his full name! I mentioned it to Lottie's teacher and Steve and we all got a big kick out of that!  I'm an IDIOT!  Poor Lottie must have been so confused as to why I was fussing at her anytime she mentioned Blake Gaddy!  HA!

• As I was picking Lottie up from school on Monday, Lottie's teacher asked if I had received Charlotte's "special" invitation?  I said no and she said that it was up at the front desk.  I asked her who it was from and she replied, Blake.  She said that Blake made her a special invitation to his birthday party and since it was not like all the others in the classroom, hers was at the front desk.  I asked her what was so special about her invitation and she said that hers was in a blue envelope while all the other kid's invitations were in white envelopes.  That had me really cracking up!  It looks like Lottie will be Blake's VIP guest at his party.  Ha!

These kids crack me up!  I swear Lottie is at the BEST age!  I can not even believe she will be 4 in one month!  Eeeekkkkkkkk

Happy New Year!



2014.................................................

Top 5 Highlights:

• Stella finally stopped CRYING mid way through the year!!!  Woohoo!  Those first 15 months of crying 24 hours a day really wore me down!
• Our house went on the market!  Although the contract fell through - I am more inspired than ever to do what is needed (repairs and all) to get it back on the market in the Spring! 
• The kids became British Citizens!!!  They now hold both U.S. and U.K. passports!  They are  officially dual citizens
• I became an aunt for the first time to my sweet nephew Carter
• Most importantly, we all managed to stay healthy!  Stella has not had any further respiratory issues (no breathing treatments, etc.) In my book, that is a HUGE win!  

2015...............................

I won't bore you with all of my resolutions / goals I have set for this year.  Let's just say I plan on fueling my mind, body and soul!

Cheers to the New Year - another chance for us to get it right! (I think this might be an Oprah quote)  :)

Christmas 2014

I don't know who was more excited for Christmas, me or the kids!  I just love this time of year.  The build up to the big day is so much fun, especially now that we have kids.  Each year, it seems like it just gets more and more special watching their little faces light up with pure joy and excitement.  It really makes you think just how truly blessed we are to be able to provide a good Christmas for them.  The constant grind at work makes it all worth while! 

Christmas week started off great.  The kids were healthy and happy.  We took them to the Speedway to see the lights.  They loved it especially when they played "Let It Go" on a loop the entire way around.  Steve loved it as well - couldn't wait to tell his mates back in England that we got to drive around the track.  :) 

Making their list for Santa

Dropping their lists in Santa's mailbox

We also enjoyed making a gingerbread house and doing holiday crafts!



On Christmas Eve I started cooking and prepping food for Christmas.  While doing so, I started feeling a little "off".  My mind / body just did not feel in sync the way it normally does.  My sister, brother in law and nephew arrived around noon so we spent the afternoon playing with the kids, baking and wrapping those last minute gifts.  

That night we all headed to my brother in law's mother's house like we do each year.  She always serves a really nice spread of food / drinks.  All the kiddos were so cute opening their gifts.  Lottie got her coveted Frozen ice castle from Kiki along with a Frozen light up dress.  She was beyond excited!  Stella received some books and lots of Minnie Mouse toys.  She loves Minnie!

 We headed home around 8:00 p.m. so that we could get the kids in bed and get ready for Santa.  Lottie argued with Steve about leaving milk and cookies for Santa vs. whiskey and mince pies - "Dad, we are in America!"  Ha!  Better luck next year Steve!

 After the kids were all snuggled in bed, Santa arrived and left lots of goodies for two very good little girls!

 

Christmas morning..... per the norm, Lottie walked into our bedroom to announce she was awake to which I replied, did Santa come see us last night?  She ran into the living room and the roar of laughter and screams just melted my heart!  She ran into our room and proclaimed from the top of her lungs that Santa had certainly been to our house.  She immediately ran into Stella's room, flipped the light on and told her to "come look!"

 

In other news, mama felt worse..........  I was up all night coughing and hacking and hoping whatever I had going on was soon going to make it's way out! 

 

Christmas morning was a blast though.  The girls were happy!  My nephew celebrated his first Christmas and we ate my famous egg and sausage casserole and hash brown casserole.  Delish!

 

 

Stella cried, begged and pleaded to get in her new toy!!!  She loves this thing! 

 

Stella couldn't wait to get her new Minnie slippers on!!!

 



My little book worm - she LOVES reading!!!

 





 

Carter's new toy!  He loved it! 

 

 

The big kid asked for a ping pong table!  He spent the day putting his table together and kicking butt!

 

Lottie helped Carter or should I say opened all of his presents for him!!!

 



 

Every Christmas, we have friends over to celebrate.  We eat great apps, drink wine and play games.  It is one of my favorite if not favorite days of the year!  Unfortunately, as the day grew on, I felt worse and worse.  I tried so hard to hang with the group, but by 10:00 p.m., I literally thought I was going to fall out. 

My three babes!!!!  Looking at this picture almost makes me want "the boy"!  Thoughts???? 

 

 Maybe one of these days, we will all be looking at the camera at once and actually smiling......

This little guy is truly the best babe!!!  Always smiles, never cries and is seriously - so CHILL!!!

I am so in LOVE with him!

 



 

 Aunt Ashley and Carter

 

 

 Aunt Jeanette or what the girls call her Aunt Janet.....  She loves it!

Lottie and Stella were both pretty stoked about their helmets although looking at Stella's facial expression, you wouldn't think so! 

 

The day after Christmas, I followed up with the minute clinic and was diagnosed with the flu!  Ugghhhhhhh!!!!  I pretty much quarantined myself to my bedroom for the next couple of days to avoid getting my kids and Steve sick. Thankfully, they survived and no one got it.  I was so surprised.!  In any event, I am so incredibly grateful for Steve being SUPER dad during that time.  I am also thankful for my sister and Aunt Jeanette for looking after the kids as well!  So blessed!

 

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!