Our wonderful, crazy, beautiful life!

Just an update...

2010-03-31T13:47:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok, ok... I so know it has been FOREVER since y'all have seen anything from me. I apologize for that. Life has totally gotten away from me. But here is an update on the goings on around here...

School is hard.
Raising three kids is hard.
Raising three kids while going to school is harder...
I got my VA money all worked out, so I am actually being paid to go to school (no pressure there)
Laney is potty training.
Carolina should be able to read 25 words by the time she graduates from Kindergarden, she can now read over 70.
Carolina was tested and placed in the top 3% of all kindergartens in our town and has now been moved into TAG (talented and gifted) classes.
George likes girls.
Laney likes to get her own way... ALL THE TIME.
Ben is enjoying his job, but its getting harder.
We still have a house that WONT sell in WA.
My new major is accounting (turns out I'm a math geek)
We love our two dogs, turns out life is so much easier with two instead of just one.

Okay.... Well that's all I can really come up with right now and I have a huge load of reading to catch up on. Hope this helps let some of you know that we're still alive out here... just really really busy.

Homework

2010-01-23T08:53:00.000-08:00

Homework is a new concept to me. Not that I havent had it before, I had plenty of it in high school but something most of you dont know is, I didnt finish high school. I later learned in life (around the age 24) that I have pretty severe ADD. To make matter worse the second year I was in HS they changed to what they called A-B days. So you would have two classes on one day and three classes on the other. Doesnt sound so bad right? Except that we were still there for the full 7 hour school day, which meant on one of those days the two classes where 3 HOURS long! Needless to say this did not mesh well with my then undiagnosed ADD. So first I just stopped going but continued to do all the class work and then I just stopped completely. Thats right, two months into my tenth grade year I completely quit going to school. Now at this point I feel I should mention that I didnt complete my ninth grade year either. A couple of months into that one I convinced my all to accommodating mother that I would do much better if I was home schooled, by me! Back then homeschooling wasnt the machine it has become today. There were no rules by the schools, no one to over see it... just me and a correspondence course. Yeah I dont feel the need to delve into how well that went or even lasted. I'm sure you can guess I got my first book and maybe made it a page in... But my tenth grade year some of my "better" friends convinced me to come back to school. It didnt take long to realize that it wasnt going to work again....

So now as a college student homework is a relatively new concept for me. College is something that I want to achieve at and work hard to be a great student. These days are different, I am not only now on meds for my ADD but that the school actually sees it as a learning disability and is willing to make special accommodations for me. How cool is that? Last night I sat down to try my first crack at hw and I have to say that I went better then I thought it would. I can already tell that English will not be my strong suit. There is a lot of reading and even though I love reading I'm not so great at reading stuff I dont really have any interest in reading. Math on the other hand I could spend hours doing. I'm going to Ace that class I can already tell. I love it. Once I get the basic understanding of something I go to town on it. I did 80 review questions and didnt even bat an eye at it. I think its because math always has an answer, instant gratification. But as for the rest of it... well its gonna take some dedication because I know it will only get harder from here.

I have to say I love my new found freedom and addiction. I love just being at the school. I dreaded the end of the week that on Monday I was having panic attacks about starting. I'm counting the days till the weekend is over and its back to school again. How silly is that? I have spent my whole life thinking of myself as a horrible student and it turns out I just needed to go to college... lol

One week down...

2010-01-22T08:32:00.000-08:00

That's right people, I have one week down and only 155 more weeks to go... The first week kinda went by in a flash. I love being at school and love being around so many people. The classes haven't gotten intense yet, but I know they will. I have been blessed with a great schedule that will allow me to do a lot of my homework and studying during the day between classes. I also found a wonderful school for the kids to attend that has perfect hours!!!! So can I get a Woot Woot to that!!!! I'm taking Psych, Art Appreciation, Math and Eng and so far the art class if my fav. Who would have thunk it huh? After that horrible experience I had with the Art Institute. But this one is different, this one wants me to enjoy and better understand the art around me and as of right now it all seems very interesting to me. I'm sure there will be more struggles that I will be telling y'all all about, but as of right now I am just loving this new part of my life. I am so happy that I choose this point in my life to go to school. I was talking to one of my instructors this morning and he was talking about how much he wished he at just slowed down and appreciated college. I feel like that is what I am getting a chance to do. Yes I have three children that keep me very very busy, but I now have this whole part of my life that is all mine. Its somewhat freeing... Well that's all for now... But you know me, if the mood to write hits me it usually hits me over and over again for a couple of days. So I'm sure you will be hearing much more about school and the fam over the next couple of days. Till then, LOVE Y'ALL!!!!

No post...

2010-01-19T09:48:00.003-08:00

Sorry about the lack of post guys... Just started school and plan to tell you all about my crazy day tonight! Dont miss me to much yall!!! lol

One word Wednesday...

2010-01-13T05:38:00.001-08:00

Organized.... (kinda)

2010-01-11T09:12:00.000-08:00

I have been looking forward to Not Me Monday since last tuesday when I realized I missed it!!! So here is my week of Not Me moments...

I did not let Laney sleep with syrup in her hair simply because I just couldnt do the bath routine that night.
I did not tell George to turn his underware around the correct way and then just ignore it when I realized he still hadnt done it 20 minutes later.
I MOST CERTIANLY DID NOT GET ANOTHER DOG!
I didnt tell Ben that I thought we should have another baby this week.
I did not drive 6 hours there and 6 hours back from my moms last weekend and then think about doing it again this weekend!
I did not pout this weekend because Ben had to do his drill weekend and that meant I couldnt sleep in.
I did not put a baby gate so my kids couldnt get out of their bedrooms till they were clean and then leave them in there for like two hours.
I did not buy ~~THREE~~ a couple of loafs of pound cake at Sam's club.
I did not change my cell phone number just to realized what a huge pain in the butt having a new number after so many years is.
I did not (even with all my pain in the a** quirks) get a big bunch of white daisies from my wonderful husband, just because... lucky girl

Is God a Mac or a PC....

2010-01-11T08:55:00.000-08:00

I love reading Stuff Christians Like because of post like this last one... What do you think is God a Mac or a PC???

Check out the whole artical Here...

Is it ever really clean?

2010-01-10T19:46:00.001-08:00

Cleaning.... It takes on a hold new meaning after you've had kids. Before kids cleaning was a bit of vacuuming, cleaning the shower and making sure the dishwasher got turned on every couple of days.I would spend an hour or two on the weekends getting the house back in order for the upcoming week...

But not now... Now three kids later I feel like I need to don a bio-hazard suit. In the past I have heard friends tell horror stories about cleaning their bathrooms after they moved in with their boyfriends or husbands and how gross it was. Pee on the seat, on the lid, even on the floor... But to be honest I never went thru that. Ben has always been a "clean" pee-er, never a drip outta place, never gross stuff to find dried on the floor... nothing. If anything he was more of a clean freak then I was. I mean dont get me wrong, its not like I was peeing on the floor or something. For a long time I thought it had something to do with living on a submarine and having to keep such a small area clean. I would learn in later years that most men on those subs were gross pigs and that I had lucked out. I had ended up with not so much of a neat freak, but someone who did like things in order and believed in taking good care of his belongings. Which is still very much the man I am married to now. And I know now after 10 years of being together that he would never be able to just pee on the floor and leave it there. But I digress, Now I live in a house with a four year old boy... You would think that would be enough said, but no. I had no idea how utterly gross a four year old could be. There was pee on the baseboards people! With in just a week there was so much pee on every part of the toilet that I had to take a scrub brush to it. I have never had to take a scrub brush to the OUTSIDE of any of our toilets and was a bit surprised today when a simple Clorox wipe was just not doing the job that so needed to be done. Gross, Gross, Gross is all I can say about it. And according to my friend Renee (who actually has 4 boys!) This is something that she has to do on a daily basis. And we wont even go into the Miss Peebody that takes an average of 2.3 seconds to pee on the floor, yet finds the need to do it two or three times in a row. So not only did I scrub the entire bathroom floor today, I also steam cleaned the whole rest of the house.Well at least I go to bed tonight knowing that at least for a few more hours my entire home is pee free...

New email address

2010-01-07T13:44:00.000-08:00

Hey guys.... I was just informed that my old email address is still on my profile. So here is my new email address: mandi4168@gmail.com

Hope that clears things up and makes it easier to contact me.

Mandi

How could you ask that???

2010-01-07T08:14:00.000-08:00

So when I into the Navy I had to give custody of my oldest son to my mom. My mom is really young, She is only 50 this year and she was only 36 when she became a grandmother. Anyways, So people used to ask her all the time if Trevor (my 13yr old son) was her son. She would politely reply no and hope that was the end of the convo. But of course it never was. People always felt it was their right to ask "So wheres his mom at?" Which was always followed by a barrage of really super nosy questions. So after about a year of having this whole intrusive convo, my mom got really tired of it. So one day shes just standing in line at the grocery store and the woman behind her asked the dreaded question. My mom whipped around (and in my moms usual sarcastic mode) and looked straight in the womans eyes and answered "His mother died in a tragic whaling accident..." The woman's eyes got huge and she wouldnt stop telling her how sorry she was. My mom got her stuff and walked out very happy with herself. Now you have to understand that my mom NEVER tells stories about something bad happening to somebody. She has this real feeling that if you do tell a story about something to happen to someone it might really happen! So when I told her I couldnt believe she said that. She told me "Well its not like its ever really going to happen. Your not planning on whaling anytime soon are you?" How funny is that? I love my mom....

One word Wednesday...

2010-01-06T14:49:00.000-08:00

1. Pee

(everywhere... I forgot about this part of having a puppy)

A new Martin...

2010-01-06T08:12:00.000-08:00

Well we've done it... We've gone out (actually she came to us) and got ourselves a brand new Martin. She's about 6 inches talk with about 1 inch legs and she is the cutest little thing you've ever seen!!! Thats right, we got another dog. Partly in hopes that having a friend will help settle Bella down and partly because corgies are the cutest things I have ever seen. OH and the kids love her too!

Awwww a New Year...

2010-01-05T09:45:00.000-08:00

Well its 2010 y'all and a whole new year for crazy stuff to happen to the Martin family. We started our new year out in a very young and super hip way... I went to bed at 8:30pm and Ben stayed up to watch Band of Brothers (for the millionth time!). I know what your thinking, how in the world do you top that kinda night of excitement? Well sorry folks but you just dont... lol

But it wasnt all ~~sh**s and giggles~~, I mean it wasnt all craziness and partying around here. Since the kiddos didnt have to be back to school until Tuesday, I decided that it would be a great chance to head down and visit my mom. She only lives about 5 hours away, but thats if your traveling normal speed... not driving with three kids speed. So it actually took us more like 7 hours after all the stopping and the breaks and the ~~pulling over to beat them~~ and stuff like that. It was a pretty routine drive down there, McDonalds for lunch, stopping at the "cleanest" looking bathroom I could find and the answering the all time favorite travel question: "Are we there yet?" like four million times. But in the end it was all so worth it. The kids got to spend some super quality time with Mom and Aunt Amber, who they absolutely love seeing. They also got brand new scooters, but those are nothing compared to the Bounce house and gigiball that they also got for Christmas from both sets of grandparents. Thats right, you heard me right... The kids got their very own full size bounce house for the backyard. How crazy is that? Those kinda things are for birthday parties and amusement parks. But now we are the proud owners of one huge bounce house and one huge inflated ball (that the kids can actually get inside of) in our very large backyard. Which when you think about it is actually very very cool. I wish we had gotten something so completely cool when we were kids. We were never the ones to get the one thing in the neighborhood that no other kids had! The other cool part is that since the grandparents decided to buy such big gifts this year, we didnt end up with lots of small toys all over the house. Which was a very nice change for this year.

I cant want to take pics of the kids using both of their new super toys to share with all of you.

So after what was actually a pretty relaxing weekend spent at my moms ( I pretty much dont have to do anything down there... can you imagine. they totally do everything that has to do with the kids!!!! can you say AWESOME). We all crawled back in the car to drive and drive and drive back home. The trip home when a bit quicker then the trip down and I discovered that you can rent RedBox movies anywhere and return them ANYWHERE! Is that not the most awesome tid bit of info you've gotten all year? I rented two movies and there was piece and quite for the final 200 miles of the drive...

Well thats how our 2010 has gotten off to a rip roaring start... But at least the kids are back in school, right!!!!

Addictions...

2009-12-31T15:36:00.000-08:00

As a stay at home mom I have plenty of addictions. Diet cherry coke, twitter, facebook, email and now blogs...

Of course I have my kids to keep my busy. They are always more then happy to make a huge mess for me to clean two, three and some times five or six times a day. But that doesnt mean that I dont find time to check to see if anyone has bothered to comment on my latest post and I check my email box like a woman in the fifties checked her mail box while her beau was at war. (was there a war in the fifties, I should really look these things up before I say them). Anyways, what I'm really trying to get at is a how embarrassed I would be if I actually had to add up all the time I spend on this computer, when I could really be spending it with my kids. Or doing something productive like Oh I dont know... knitting something. Dont get me wrong I LOVE BLOGS! I love that little peek into someone elses lives. I love getting to make new friends that I have almost no hope of ever meeting in person. I get a huge adrenaline rush when someone who is semi-famous in the blogging world contacts me or comments on my blog. I know its nerdy be I'm being honest her and I really do!!! How silly is that? I guess in the end my blogging and tweeting really arent addictions as much as they are a release. They are a place where I can voice my opinion on just about anything. I place where I can say all the stupid things that I want and people can take them or leave them. I love the friends I've made doing this and I love getting all these jumbled up thoughts out of my head and on to the computer. Thanks for listening, even when it doesnt make any sense. And thanks for allowing me to have just a glimpse at your addictions too...

Sticky Note Tuesday...

2009-12-29T14:01:00.001-08:00

Family Dinners... Are they really worth it?

2009-12-28T15:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I am at my wits end. Food has always been an issue around here when it comes to George. He is just not an eater. Actually thats not true, he loves to eat... sandwiches, crackers, muffins, pancakes, french toast and pretty much any other breakfast food you can think off. Plus he will pretty much eat with no questions asked at any point in the day... Any point in the day that is except dinner time. Nope dinner time is a complete nightmare around here and has been since about the time George started to talk. That was right about the time that we started expecting him to eat whatever we were eating and right about the time he realized that he didnt have to if he didnt want to and that there was pretty much nothing we could do to make him. We have tried many different approaches to his picking eating habits. I've made him take a "thank you" bite of foods, I've given him smaller portions, tried cooking only things I know he likes (that got old really fast) and just given in at times and given him something that he will eat instead... I am losing it. At this point I have no idea what to do anymore. Part of me just wants to believe that he wont spend the rest of his life eating pb&j and part of me wants to think, "well maybe he will" I just dont want him growing up remembering family dinners as a battle zone. I want him to cherish the memories that we make by making a point to always sit down as a family to eat. I want him to look forward to dinner, not dread it all day long. What is it about dinner that makes him act this way. I dont have this problem with any other meal. Granted breakfast and lunch are always pretty much stuff that he really likes, but he gets up to the table eats it all and then goes and plays. I'm in crisis mode here people. At this point I'm willing to try anything and I'm about to give up... HELP

To quote a smart man...

2009-12-16T09:58:00.000-08:00

One of my fav blogs is Stuff Christians Like. It is hugely popular and Jon is a genius. Today he wrote a post that I just had to share with everyone. I am posting part of it here, but please check out his blog, it is amazing to read on a daily basis. He is a blogging rock star.

So here is my shout out to Jonathan Acuff:

I pretended I had boxes.

I tricked myself into believing that sin can be placed neatly inside one part of my life. That it won’t trickle out of the box and spill into every area of my heart and mind. I pretended that I possessed the fortitude to compartmentalize. Surely what I do in my personal life won’t impact my professional life. I can act out in this sector of my mind, but keep things together in these other three.

But I couldn’t and neither can you and neither could Tiger Woods.

I don’t want to go into details of what’s been alleged about his extramarital affairs. There are far smarter people than me that have already covered it.

But what I do want to address is what my friends keep asking me about Tiger Woods:

“How could he have done that?”

“How could he have been so stupid to leave hundreds of text messages and voice mails?”

“Did he think he was going to be the first celebrity who didn’t get caught? Bill Clinton, David Letterman, Frank Gifford, Kobe Bryant, they all got caught. Was he expecting to break the mold and never get found out? What was he thinking?”

What kills me about those questions is the idea that in the middle of an affair you could make smart decisions. As if, in the middle of cheating on someone you would have the intelligence and rational to make wise decisions about how many text messages you should send. As if only part of you would be broken and wounded, but the rest of your life would continue moving along perfectly.

But sin doesn’t work that way.

There’s no such thing as a “smart affair.” Or a smart burglary or a smart lie. Every decision made in that moment is dumb on some level. I think it’s because sin is like a drop of poison in water. You wouldn’t put a little cyanide in a water bottle and then say, “Only the top is poisoned, I’ll drink from the bottom.” Not at all. You’d put the bottle down because the whole thing was poisoned.

I used to think I could hide. I used to think that I could keep secrets like my lies and my porn problems and my other issues in a box under my bed. And maybe if I kept the lid on tight enough, they’d never impact any other issue of my life. But that was a lie. Ask my family. Ask the people that told me to go home from work.

They’ll tell you.

But the good news, the wild truth that proves the point of how corrosive sin is, is also the same hope we can trust in. Simply put, God makes us new. This verse has been rocking me lately and I’ve already written about it, but it’s too big to just cover once or twice.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17

I’m convinced that God doesn’t make us better, because better wouldn’t be enough. Improved wouldn’t cut it. There’s poison in the water. New is the only way to get fresh and that’s what he offers.

To me. To you. To Tiger Woods.

Because we can’t box up sin. And when we pretend we can, things get really messy, really quickly.

Milk... a random thought

2009-12-16T09:39:00.000-08:00

Today I want to talk about milk.... I know this is a totally random post, but milk seems to be one of our major issues still to this day. Some of you may know this already, but our youngest, Laney, will be 3 years old in February and she is still on Allimentum. Milk has always been a thorn in our side with Laney. She cant have cows milk, soy milk, rice milk or any other kind of formula. She gets crazy sick and has numerous nasty diapers all day long. Which as a Mom (or dad) you will know always leads to horrible bouts of diaper rash. That's right I am willing to admit that we havent even started the potty training process with Laney, but thats a whole nother post.

On top of not being able to drink the stuff, she wont even try most stuff. She loves her stinky, nasty, way to expensive formula and has for the past 2.5 years. But today we are trying something different (again)... I found hemp milk at the store and its even vanilla flavored. I figured now was the best time to try it, since we have a full stock of formula and the rule of thumb of course is when you dont need it to work, it will. But back to what I was going to say in the first place (stupid ADD)... There are so many milks out there!!!! None of which sound very good to me, but somebody loves them because they're out there. I mean really.... who knew you could milk an almond? And is it just me or does giving Laney "Hemp" milk sound a tiny bit illegal to you? So for now... if you talk to me, dont even bother to ask if shes potty trained lol we cant even get her off formula.

Christmas Photos... the not so greats

2009-12-15T08:55:00.000-08:00

Okay everyone! I want to see your WORST Christmas pictures. It will be my second giveaway ever and I am SOOOOOO very excited about it. I love giving things away and I love getting stuff from y'all, so a giveaway right at Christmas time!!!!

So here is how its gonna go. You send me your worst Christmas photos with a cute little caption or a short background story on the pic and everyone will vote for their favorite. I compile the votes and declare a winner on Dec 30th. That way you have plenty of time to get your (not so great) photos from this year in too!

Cant wait to see what you come up with! Good Luck!!!!

Btw... I havent decided what I will be giving away yet, but You can be sure it will be awesome! Just another chance for me to find something super cool! I love shopping!!!! I will update this post as soon as I decide.

Update: I have chosen the prize!!!! There is a great artist on Etsy.com that makes these really cool Christmas Ornaments and I think that every mom needs one. Check her out at: www.etsy.com/shop/picardcreative Here is a pic of the ornament that I thought was just perfect for this Christmas! Enjoy and SEND THOSE PICTURES!!!!

These are my struggles

2009-12-15T08:03:00.000-08:00

As most of you have noticed I haven't been blogging much lately. When I have its be just a bit here or there to update you about important information that I mostly want to get out to family and friends, but nothing really fun or entertaining. I'm sorry about that, I have really missed it. It truly is a release for me. Like I'm so sure it is for all of you.

But I have been under what I consider an attack. Mentally, physically and emotionally... I am a very spiritual person and feel like Satan has been doing his best to take everything I love from me. Including my love for blogging, reading and spending time with my family. Some of you already know that my marriage almost came to an end in the past six months. We are not very public people and have kept our troubles quiet. I dont plan on going into the details here now. I'm not ready for that, but I happy to say that things are getting so much better. We are stronger and our relationship with our Lord is also growing. Its weird when you can actually sit back and see the things that are destroying the relationships that are the most important to you and you're helpless to change things. I struggle with depression, anxiety and ADD daily and it now looks like I have Fibromyalgia. All of which are so much harder to deal with under mass amounts of stress. I am trying my best right now to deal with the stresses that come and go daily and not let them affect me like they have been in past months. My first thought was to run away from it all. To end any connection I had and start all over again, which has always been my way of dealing with things that seemed to overwhelm me. I get a "tape" in my head telling me how things are ruined and there is nothing I can do to fix them. That "tape" I'm now learning is Satan feeding me lies in an attempt to destroy all that I love.

Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You're not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It's the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won't last forever. It won't be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.

1Peter 5:8

Top Ten Thursday..

2009-12-10T14:25:00.000-08:00

This is my first time participating in Sara's top ten Thursday. But here goes! Today mine is the top ten things I meant to do today and didnt. 1. I did not brush my kids teeth before school this morning... oops 2. I did not finish those three ~~huge~~ loads of laundry in the laundry room. 3. I did not pay my rent on time... oops 4. I did not spend two hours on the computer looking for Old Navy boots for my daughter for Christmas this year. (Okay thats just a flat out lie, I totally did that) 5. I did not finish unpacking all the boxes in my house. 6. I did not skip lunch (even though I promised myself I would) 7. I did not call that gym that I have been meaning to call for the past week. 8. I did not take ten people off my Christmas card list because I didnt order enough cards this year. (again a lie) 9. I did not consider driving 30 miles for no other reason then just to check my mail in a different city just so the kids would be strapped into the car for all that time and not driving me crazy.... (wow I really have to get this lying thing under control) 10. And the number 10 thing I did not do today is... I did not spend a half an hour looking for a new Christmas wallpaper for my Iphone. (ok thats the last lie I swear, at least for today lol) Well there you go.... all the things I "didnt" do. You should try it some time!

Okay I wont keep you waiting any longer

2009-12-10T13:35:00.000-08:00

Well as some of you have seen on our facebook page, Ben and I have made a huge decision lately and we couldnt wait to share it with all of you. Actually, Ben doesnt think waiting would be such a bad idea. But I am not a patient person and I just couldnt wait to share our new family news. Now I know what your thinking... The Martin's are pregnant again. Nope, we're not. We will not be "having" anymore babies, I can promise you that. But our family will be getting a little bit bigger some time in the next year or two (hopefully). Ben and I have decided to adopt. We are have been talking about this for years and finally feel like we are ready to start the process. We are still looking into what country we will be adopting from or if adopting stateside would be best for us. Like I said we are in the very beginning stages of the process and for now, we are taking baby steps. But I just couldnt wait to share the new with all of you and ask for all your prayers during this new journey in our lives. Lots of Love!!!!

NEW URL

2009-12-10T07:53:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have changed the URL to our blog. I'm so excited to tell you that I finally have my own domain name!!!! Our new web address will be www.ourwonderfulbeautifullife.com. But you will still be able to put in our old address www.mandiandbenmartin.blogspot.com and find the blog! So please update your bookmarks!

HO, HO, HO (and a little touch of bah hum bug)

2009-12-01T17:59:00.001-08:00

Ok, so its Christmas time and for those of you that follow me on twitter you know that I am completely 100% not ready. I havent so much has bought a single gift this year. Yea I know what your thinking... " Mandi there are plenty of people that dont do their holiday shopping until Dec. Thats when you get all the good sales." Well thats just not me. I'm a buy all year kinda girl. A go out on Black Friday kinda girl. A I have everyone's perfect gift wrapped and ready to go by the 15th kinda a girl. A... Well you get the point. But not this year. This year I will be a fly by the seat of my pant kinda girl.... And well to be honest I'm not really sure how to deal with that. Between the multiple moves, a removal of a nonessential body part and the complete change in lifestyle that we are currently undergoing I am well...I'm just not ready for old Saint Nick to come plopping down my chimney. So if you dont get a gift this year please know that it wasnt for a lack of trying, just more a lack of time and if you get a gift and its from Wal-Mart, well just know thats about as fancy as it gets for us way out here in the sticks... Love you all... Merry Christmas and Well cut me some slack people ok... lol just kidding love ya! Mandikins!

She is a beautiful girl.....

2009-11-23T19:12:00.000-08:00

But its time people.... It is time for Laney to be potty trained. I'm not sure how this is going to go over once we inform Laney of this fact. But we will soon be entering PottyTraining BootCamp...

As of wednesday until sunday she will only get diapers at night. It will either be panties or nothing for the rest of the day. I will follow her around with a potty as ever much as I need to. But I will have her peeing in that potty at least once before the weekend is over.

Now you explain all this to this super sweet face...