Life With The Ardies

Wordless Wednesday - Road Trippin' with Friends

2012-02-15T16:16:00.001-06:00

Close to My Heart - Giveaway

2012-02-13T19:49:00.002-06:00

"I am a stay at home mom with three kiddos. Our youngest, Easton, was diagnosed with a heart defect hours after his entrance into the world. God had paved a road for us before Easton was born, as I planned to quit teaching and stay home to raise our babies. Little did we know, we would have a baby that needed little exposure to others, and daycare would have been a scary place for his fragile heart. God knew.

Having a child with special needs comes with many more financial duties and bills. I decided that I could contribute from home by creating jewelry (one of my favorite things on the planet!) while taking care of my babies (my very favorite thing on the planet!)." -- Close to My Heart

This was written by my husband's cousin, Julie. I admire her passion to spread awareness congenital heart defects (CHD). A CHD is a problem with the structure of the heart. These structural defects can involve any part of the heart that can slow down, alter the direction, or completely block the bloodflow to the heart. As any amazing mother would, Julie spent her time taking care of her son and reaching out to others who were in similar situations. She created a business that aims in creating awareness about CHD and helping others. In addition,to selling jewelry, Julie posts facts about CHD on her Facebook page, Close to My Heart. For example, did you know that 1 in 100 babies are born with a heart defect, making it the number one birth defect? Here's what her business is all about:

"I sent a necklace to heart mom and when she got it she said it made her feel better knowing that her little angel was "close to her heart." I began making necklaces for other heart moms and sending them to them as a hug from another state or..., in some cases, another country. I have read so many stories of sadness, and loss and often wished that there was something I could do for these families. I found making a necklace and sending it to these mommies is healing for both of us. My sales go toward our little man's medical bills, but also allows me to send comfort to families of CHD angels and warriors."

Products for sale include custom made pendants. These are some of my favorites:

You can send Julie any photo or graphic for your necklace. There are a variety of different necklace options to choose from, including a silver chain, ribbon, beads, etc. I like the safety closure and the stretchy option for the kiddos. To learn more about this amazing business, head over to Close to My Heart's Facebook page.

I wanted to help Julie spread the word about her mission and her business, and she was nice enough to offer one of her necklaces as a giveaway! One lucky reader will get a necklace of their choice!

To enter, all you need to do is head over to Facebook and "like" Close to My Heart. After you have done this, head back to my blog and leave me a comment telling me you have done so. Please make sure you leave your first name, the initial of your last name on Facebook, and an email for me to contact you.

It's that simple! The contest ends February 26th, 2012 at midnight. A winner will be chosen via random.org.

Thanks and good luck!!

It's a long one.

2012-01-29T20:04:00.002-06:00

Don't worry...you're not hallucinating. It's really a post. I really did write this time. ;o)

But be prepared that this is a long one.

So. Yeah. I can't believe I haven't posted since January 16th?!?! Wow. I suck at this blogging thing now. Things are slowly turning upwards, even though I know there's still so much more to do. I am enjoying Mondays as my Dissertation Day. This allows me to focus on nothing but dissertation crap. The Hubs is at school/work. Babygirl is at school. And I'm at home, slaving away on The Big D. It will get done. I ~~HAVE~~ ~~NEED~~ WILL graduate in May, dammit.

And while I'm taking a hit financially by working one less day at the clinic, I've found myself less stressed. (Not to say that I'm not still stressed to the max... that's another whole blog post.)

So what's Ardie life right now? Well... I'm hopefully finishing up Chapter 4 (of 5) of my dissertation soon. I'll need to write up Chapter 5, revise the first 3, and get approval from my dissertation chair. (That won't come without 48 new revised drafts, but that's a different story.) THEN, I have to send the final copy to the rest of my committee and schedule my defense. Then I'll have to fix anything they didn't like and send it to the graduate school. All by April 13th. Eeek! To everyone else, that seems light years away. But to me, it seems like tomorrow. ::sigh:: May cannot get here fast enough!

In other news, internship is going really well. I'm finally getting everything under control and feeling more confident about my skills. Both of my supervisors have said some great things about me, and I hope that translates into me getting a good job in August. We shall see...

The Hubs is working pretty darn hard too. We're hoping he can finish by August. He still needs to figure out his dissertation stuff, collect his data, and write it all up. There's supposedly going to be two full-time faculty positions for next year at the community college he's currently teaching at. Supposedly the dean has already told a few people that he wants The Hubs to be one of the new faculty members. Let's pray to God and hope that happens... because the Lord knows we need some real paychecks coming in around here!!! We are seriously going to be like a fat kid in a candy store when we both having full-time jobs that actually PAY something! HAHA!

And Babygirl. My goodness that child cracks us up everyday. She's insanely smart. Insanely clever. Insanely good at pushing our buttons. She melts my heart everyday. Take today, for example. We're all hanging out in the living room when Babygirl goes over to The Hubs, points to me, and says "That's my mommy." The Hubs then says, "That's right, honey. That's your mommy." And Babygirl proceeds to say, "Yeah. She's my friend." ::swoon::

She's got excellent manners. She knows all her letters, all her letter sounds, and tells exactly everything she sees when we are in the car. "Look, Mommy! There's an airplane. And there's two of them too!" (We live by the airport. It's not uncommon to see several plane in the sky.) "Look at all the trees, Mommy! They're beautiful." "Oooh, a motorcycle Daddy! A black one!"

In other news, we got an aquarium after Christmas. The Hubs apparently didn't have enough going on over the holiday break, so he became fixated on fish. And the man would not leave me alone until he got his fish. After a lot of research, and a lot of talking with various people, we ended up getting a 10-gallon tank, some live plants, and 2 guppies. We understood that these were our "starter fish" and that we had to begin the water cycling process to get our aquarium to where it needed to be. We understood that this process could take anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks before we could get the rest of our fish. Well... fishie #1 died about a week later and fishie #2 died today. Apparently, this is completely normal and "this is why they are called starter fish." (Direct quote from the fish store guy). Well... that sucks. So now we have a 10-gallon tank full of water that is still not completely through the cycling process. And we're not getting any fish until the water/chemical levels stabilize.

Whatev.

Ummm.... what else? (Trying to think about what has happened over the past several months. Might as well try to write it up while I'm already blogging. Right?)

I can't think. So, there you have it. An update on us Ardies. Hope you got your fill because at the rate I'm at right now. I'm not sure when the next post will be. Stupid graduate school. You're getting in the way of my blogging life!

Christmas in Pictures...

2012-01-16T14:24:00.001-06:00

...because uploading pictures from my phone requires less time than typing everything up. Plus... it seems to me that people like pictures more. This isn't all of our Christmas. This just happens to be what I caught on camera. I'll write-up a post someday.... Maybe... ;o)

Our Christmas decorations

Santa came!!

Someone got a BIG Jumbo. This needs a post by itself. Again, maybe someday...

My in-laws beach house made the local magazine!!

A vacation wouldn't be complete without some games, a margarita, and a sexy husband!

Nor would it be complete without a visit to your in-laws' future grave site.....

Nee Nee and Babygirl walking to the train

On the train. (I love this picture!!)

Daddy and Babygirl feeding the ducks after the train ride.

Pedicures by Nee Nee

Sunglasses? Check! Headband? Check! Hair bow? Check!! I'm stylin' today!!

Cousin #1 with cheetos.

Cousin #2 with cheetos.

Cousin #3 with cheetos.

Redneck fun. Notice my bro-in-law hosing down the roof. It's all about being proactive, my friends. :o)

Someone learned how to drive over the holiday! Watch out!!

Playing with another cousin!!

Babygirl with her great aunt!

(Back home). Someone got a scooter for Christmas. (Another gift not pictured: a tricyle)

Could this little girl look any more excited?!?!?!

Thank you! All Mommy wanted was a little excitment!!

I'm a mess and I'm completely OK with that!!

Another one bites the dust!

2012-01-01T20:34:00.001-06:00

And another one down, and another one down, and another one bites the dust.

I can't believe 2011 is over. Hello 2012! I've been waiting for you since I started graduate school nearly 5 years ago. This is my year. This is ~~hopefully~~ going to be the year I get my Ph.D. So we'll see. Reality kicks back in tomorrow.

The past few weeks have been a blur. The holiday break at school began on the 19th, and I feel like I haven't had much of a break. I took this past week off from the clinic so we could go to Houston to visit The Hubs' side of the family the week between Christmas and New Years. We got back into town yesterday, only to leave 30 minutes later for a NYE party. Today was spent unpacking and psyching myself up for work again. Hello internship, report writing, and dissertation, we shall meet again!

And I have got to be the world's worst blogger. I need to blog about our Christmas, upload a bunch of pics, and catch my four readers up on our crazy Ardie life. I'll have time to do that soon, right?

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, and I wish each and everyone of you a Happy New Year. It's that lovely new year's resolution time. I just bought Just Dance 3 for the Wii, so I plan to dance my way into a healthier lifestyle. :o) We've got a fresh start guys! Let's make this year a good one!

Wordless Wednesday - Not Blogger of the Year

2011-12-21T08:25:00.002-06:00

AKA Worst Blogger Ever
I'll blog regularly again someday. I promise!

Photo Credit: Meg Tillman Photography

Nearly half-way done!

2011-12-15T21:56:00.003-06:00

I don't blog anymore. I don't have the time. I don't have the energy. But I truly miss it. I miss being able to pour my thoughts out onto my blog. And I miss my readers. All four of you. ;o)

But as I sit here, I began to think of what a whirlwind these past 6 months have been for me. I'm nearly half-way done with my internship y'all!! It's only downhill from here, right?? Right?

I sure hope it is. I've changed my schedule so that I'm "off" on Mondays. Starting at the beginning of the year, Mondays are my Dissertation Days. I will devote my whole day to dissertation work. Because I WILL be done with that sucker by April. And I will graduate in May. I will, dammit!! So that means, I'll have my dissertation day, 2 days at the clinic and 2 days in the schools. Busy, busy, busy... but I CAN do this, right?? Right?

I think I can.

I think I can.

I think I can.

CHICAGO BOUND!!!

2011-12-09T09:11:00.001-06:00

Hey y'all!

I'm in Chicago today!

Check out my post over at Finally Mom!

And seriously, could Lovie be any cuter?!?!?!

Graduate School Barbie

2011-12-07T20:37:00.001-06:00

A few of my graduate school friends posted this on Facebook, and I couldn't resist not sharing. If you need more insight to how crazy my life has been the past few years, please read this post:

Graduate School Barbie

Wordless Wednesday - No caption needed. :o)

2011-12-07T08:45:00.001-06:00

Meg Tillman Photography

2011-12-05T21:45:00.001-06:00

Oh. My. Goodness.

I seriously do not know where to begin. I met Meg through one of my good friends and couldn't be happier with our family photos this year. Maybe it's me, but I think it's hard to capture Babygirl's true personality via camera. For example, Babygirl is all for fun, games, and laughter but once you try to make her do any of the above for pictures... "No! I don't want to!" Meg did great though. She didn't let this bother her (so maybe it was just me). She decided to just snap pictures of our interactions and captured us at our best. She also helped us with ideas for the pictures as well as where to shoot. (I love this because I tend to be a little indecisive at times). She was also very helpful and gave us a lot of information that I didn't know... like ordering prints from Shutterfly and being able to pick them up at Target, who knew? Not I!

If you live in or around the DFW area, please consider Meg to capture your next special occasion. She is truly a talented photographer and is great with children! She also does everything from couples to families to weddings to seniors to art to pets!

Visit http://www.megtillmanphotography.com/ or go to her Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/#!/MegTillmanPhotography

Just take a look at her work for yourself!

Wordless Wednesday: Preview

2011-11-30T06:58:00.000-06:00

HUGE shout out to Meg! Can't wait to see more!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T08:12:00.001-06:00

Wishing each and everyone of you a wonderful Thanksgiving. I hope everyone's day is filled with love, laughter, and good food. (And if you're a football type of person, good football).

It's been a crazy year. The past four months have been insane. Big surprise, huh? But I'm so thankful for everyone and everything I have in my life. I seriously cannot say it enough... I wouldn't be the person I am today without my friends and family. To my parents on both sides of the family, all of my friends, and most of all my husband and daughter... I love you all and cannot imagine my life without each of you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for everything!

Wordless Wednesday - 1st Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T11:59:00.001-06:00

"Mmmmm... Turkey." Babygirl - 2009

Thanksgiving is coming!!!!!

2011-11-20T19:54:00.001-06:00

Let me start this post by saying that this is the first Sunday in MONTH that I'm in a good mood!! Why?!?! I only have a two day week! YESSS!! The work at the clinic doesn't ever stop, but I don't have to go to the schools since they are off the entire week. This leaves me with Wednesday and Friday to get work done since Babygirl will be at daycare both days. (We already paid for it, so why not? Right?)

I hope to get a good chuck of that dissertation I've been avoiding! (Can't that thing seriously just write itself?!?!)

Anyway - so yeah... THANKSGIVING IS COMING!!! And that means it's time to reflect on my life and think about the things that I am thankful for. And while I like to bitch and moan a lot on my blog, I really do have a lot to be thankful for.

Here they are in no particular order:

I am thankful for my family. This includes my ever-patient husband. He puts up with a lot. And I mean a lot. He helps around the house and picks up on the things I neglect. He keeps me sane. Fo sho.

And then there's Babygirl. Good god, I love that child. She continually reminds me to forget about life and focus on the present. She forces me to stop and look for airplanes in the sky. Or count the trees as we pass by them. Everything is fascinating, and we must stop and check it all out.

While money is tighter than it's ever been, we still have a roof over our head and food in our kitchen. We are able to pay our bills and stay above water for the time being.

Friends. I am truly blessed to have such great friends in my life. They listen to my crap even though I'm sure they have 32 other things they rather be doing. And they help me remember that there is a reason I am working hard to play harder later.

And the internet. AKA Facebook and Pinterest. I can get lost on either one of those websites and escape from reality for a little bit. I probably waste too much time on both, but I'm completely okay with that.

~~~ What are YOU thankful for?? ~~~

Because we all need a reason to smile on a Monday...

2011-11-14T10:00:00.001-06:00

It's always around this time on Sunday.

2011-11-13T17:43:00.001-06:00

It never fails. Like clockwork, early Sunday evenings are pretty crappy for me. And I'm getting sick of it. Ever since the beginning of August, I have worked 50+ hours a week. I spend at least nine hours at work, five days a week. I come home and work some more after Babygirl has gone to bed. As you can imagine, I'm mentally and physically exhausted by the time 5:00 Friday rolls around. It's non-stop work. Work. Work. Work.

They say you need to find time for yourself, and make sure you are taking care of yourself too. And I try. And there are times when my brain and body shuts down for me. So I take a break. I catch up on my TV shows. I spend time with my family. I cook. I hang out with friends. I do anything except work. Because Lord knows after a long, hectic week.... I deserve it.

And there's naptime and some nights on the weekends when I get work done. Because I have to. Because there is always something that needs to be done. Because there is always 58 things on my to-do list. So I try to do both. Relax and enjoy some "free" time. But also try to get some work done when I can too.

But then Sunday evening rolls around. And I think about all the things I didn't get to. And all the things that are coming up. And all the other things I still need to finish. And it sucks. I feel like I punish myself for giving me some "me time" because all it does is leaves me with more crap to do. In less time.

If I had worked just a couple more hours this weekend, I wouldn't be working right now...

I should have just stayed home and worked late on that report...

I needed to run my dissertation statistics and write up those results...

Did I do any of those?

Nope.

Shit.

And tomorrow is Momday again.

Yay.

I'm tired of this. It's a never-ending cycle. I'm trying to be strong and tell myself that this is only temporary. But it doesn't excuse the fact that I'm exhausted and ready for my dissertation to be done, my internship to be complete, and to have graduated already. I've found myself distancing myself from everyone. And that sucks too.

I'm approaching the halfway mark. The end of the year will be here before I know it. I'm honestly surprised I made it this far without going crazy.

But thinking that I have another 6-7 months of this is almost too much to handle sometimes.

I'm totally over this crap.

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T22:14:00.002-05:00

It just doesn't get any cuter than this. I'm sorry. It just doesn't.

Pebbles from the Flintstones

And a fairy, because one Halloween costume is not enough.

I don't want you to take my picture, Mommy!!

A ref, Pebbles, and of course, the most interesting man in the world.

Pebbles with Capt Jimmy!

Dorothy and Pebbles. Seriously guys, it cannot get any cuter than this!!

Wordless Wednesday - Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

Quick Updates

2011-10-24T20:33:00.002-05:00

I feel like I haven't blogged in forever!! Sure, there's been a Wordless Wednesday here and a giveaway there, but I really haven't written much since my internship started in August. Here's a few things that I felt needed updating (in no particular order):

1. Potty training is going really well!! I wrote about our first weekend at the end of July and a brief update 10 days later. Fast forward to now and she's pretty much trained during the day. I can't even remember the last accident we had. We're still wearing diapers/Pull-Ups during naptime and at night. I've heard from a couple of people that this is normal, especially with Babygirl just turning 2 years old. Anyone have any advice about nighttime potty training? I'm not all that worried and figured it would come with time, but should I be doing anything?

2. Internship is going really well. I'm still working 50-60 hour weeks and literally spend all my "free" time writing reports. But... I can say that I'm getting the hang of it and things aren't as stressful as it was. I seriously cannot believe that I'm getting close to the halfway mark. It's nearly November already!! Where has the time gone?!?!

(Side note: I sure hope things aren't this insane after I graduate because I sure as hell not working this hard to work this hard for the rest of my life!!)

3. Which brings me to my next point. I have just a few short months to pull this stupid dissertation together! AHH!! I have no time!! I guess I need to schedule some time off from my internship to work on my dissertation because I REALLY don't want delay my graduation when I don't have to. Anyone have a few spare hours they can give me? I promise I'll use them wisely!

4. Babygirl is talking up a storm. Full blown conversations with this little girl. The amount of stuff that comes out of this little girl's mouth is insane! It's amazing how much stuff kiddos pick up at this age. The Hubs and I are really having to watch what we say now! She's adorable though and seriously have no clue how much more I can fall in love with her. I fall more in love with her every day.

5. In case you don't follow college football, I am proud to say that my Red Raiders BEAT the Sooners this weekend. Yes, the unranked Texas Tech football team beat the #3 Oklahoma Sooners 41-38! From Fox Sports: "The Oklahoma Sooners also got a beat down from Texas Tech at Norman, Okla., but the score didn't really reflect it. The Red Raiders owned the Sooners' defense — it was a shock to the system unless you're used to the Sooners failing to win the big games. Then it's status quo. FINAL: Texas Tech 41 Oklahoma 38. Guns Up." Who knows what the rest of the season has in store for the Red Raiders, but I'm definitely anxious to find out!

6. Couch to 5K? What's that??? Forget about the fact that I haven't run since May, I have. not. given. up. yet. It was literally a triple-digit summer with nearly every single day well over 100 degrees. I wasn't going to kill myself running, so I told myself to wait until it got cooler. And it has. The mornings and evenings are nice. Problem is it's pitch black in the mornings when I'm getting ready for work, so I can't run then. Then by the time we all get home, fed, cleaned up, and put Babygirl into bed, it's dark again. I suppose I could run the second I get home/before dinner, but blah! I haven't worked all of the logistics yet, but I will finish this 9-week program if it takes me 9 years!!! ;o)

7. I don't know what else to say.... am I missing anything? Have I left any of my 3 regular readers hanging for any information? (hehe) I miss blogging. I'm just dead tired, don't have time, or don't have the mental energy to blog most of the time. This soon shall pass. Right?

Wordless Wednesday: Halloween

2011-10-19T06:46:00.000-05:00

2009 - Pumpkin

2010 - Strawberry

2011 - Still no stinkin' clue! Any ideas??

Winners!!

2011-10-17T19:20:00.003-05:00

Thanks again for everyone who entered the giveaway from Letter Photography. I have already gotten so many comments on my "Family" pictures, and I cannot wait to supplement them with some family photos.

The two lucky winners were.....

Congratulations to Arbitrary Day for winning our first prize of two $25 giftcards!!

And to Gina for winning our second prize of one $15 giftcard!!

I would love to see what you both decide to do! As for everyone else, thanks again and don't forget to take advantage of Letter Photography's discount code.

Letter Photography

**35% off discount code for everyone for a 2 month time!**

(discount code: LWTA35)

Giveaway - LOW ENTRIES!!!

2011-10-08T22:34:00.000-05:00

In other words, you have a really good chance of winning one of TWO prizes if you enter now!! Entering is simple. 'Like" Letter Photography on Facebook, make a comment with a special occasion you would give Letter Photography as a gift, and tell me you've done so. Could this be any easier?!?!? Enter the giveaway by clicking here.

You know you want one of your own! Enter now! Giveaway ends 10/14

11 years ago today

2011-10-05T20:43:00.000-05:00

The Hubs and I declared ourselves officially boyfriend and girlfriend. I thought it was pretty amazing that we've been together for 11 years until I realized this:

We met when we were in college.

Eleven years later, we are still in college.......

(Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a chance to win one of TWO giftcards from Letter Photography!)

Wordless Wednesday - Flashback

2011-10-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

Babygirl - 6 months old

** Have you entered my giveaway yet??