Busy Life

Life is so busy right now. I'm going to bed past midnight which is not like me AT ALL! I love my sleep and get grumpy when I don't get enough. But there is so much for me to get done. And it's hard to get much done with Brooklyn awake because I'd rather play/read with her than do my own homework. Even though it's been hectic in my life lately, I've still gotten to enjoy my beautiful little girl. I even remembered to grab the camera to capture some of her fun moments...

She kept trying to put this on her head all night. I put it on her and she actually kept it on! She liking things on her head a little more now that she's getting older.

Thank goodness mommy's phone has an otter box. Otherwise it would not be alive.

"Brusha teef" is a very used phrase around our house. She LOVES to brush her teeth. And looking at herself in the mirror while doing it just makes her more happy. :)

Luke and I started painting our house (more pictures to come) this past weekend. I turned around to paint for a little while and I look back and B has climbed up 2 steps on the ladder. She is such a little monkey...and fearless! I had to take a quick pic before I made her get off. She loved the ladder!

Sunglasses ("gwasses") are another thing she LOVES now too! She loves looking at herself in the mirror while she wears them. She just thinks she's so cute! (But who can argue? She is the cutest child alive!)

Mommy's little diva!

I can't believe she is already 18 months old! She's growing too fast! Here are a few facts about her now that she's 18 months old...

• 18 month clothes are getting too small...24 month and 2T fit really well and will be what we buy for her spring/summer clothes
• She is starting to put together sentences...it's really funny
• Tinker Bell is still her favorite
• She is also into babys and baby dolls
• She climbs everything!!
• She LOVES being outside!
• She will sit still and read several books with me at night! :) (This makes me so happy!)
• She loves people and isn't very shy
• She's a very caring child...she'll go check on anyone that's crying.
• She knows places (we can pull up to my mom's house and she'll say "my mimi" then as soon as I get her out of the car she runs to the door and knocks)
• temper tantrums happen whenever I tell her "no"

There's so much more but I can't list everything. Now that she's tucked into bed..I think I will go to bed too.

How to get INK out of Carpet

About a week ago Luke and I noticed we had two black stains in our bedroom carpet. We had absolutly no clue how they got there. Our only guess was Chloe must have busted open a pin. I was about to freak out! This is my brand new house with brand new carpet. Neither is even a year old! I take pride in keeping it looking nice so I wanted those stains gone!! I first tried resolve because that usually works for me...not this time. I got online and did a little research on how to remove the stains. Here's what I tried...and what worked for me..

This is one of the stains before...very noticable!!

And the other

Everywhere I looked online said to use vinegar or hairspray. We didn't have vinegar so I tried spraying hairspray on the stain, laying a rag on top, and ironing it. It pulled up some of the ink...until I ran out of my hairspray (which was low to begin with). After I had time to go to the store I tried the vinegar...nothing. My Mamaw had mentioned using ammonia, so I picked some up and tried that. It worked so much better than the hairspray and vinegar! I had to be careful so that I wouldn't bleach my carpet but most of the ink disappeared with a lot of scrubbing.

These are the stains afterwards. You can still see them if you look closely...but I'm going to try not to notice them.



I thought this might be useful to the moms and wifes out there.

Watch Me Grow

16 months




12 months

9 months

4 months

2 months

It's amazing to watch the changes!!

Valentines

I've never really been much of a Valentine's Day person. I feel as though love should be shown by everyone everyday of the year. But I do understand how other people love it...and I want Brooklyn to know that she will ALWAYS have a Valentine...mommy and daddy. So we got her some gifts...

Since she is OBSESSED with Tinker Bell we decided to get her Tinker Bell stuff. She got 2 Tinker Bell Sippy Cups (we never can have enough...they end up at other peoples houses) and the original Tinker Bell movie...all wrapped in a Tinker Bell bag!! Her Nana and Pop got her a Tinker Bell backpack and blanket and Mimi and Uncle Matthew got her "Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue" and a Tinker Bell plush toy. (She's pretty spoiled)

My 1st graders had their Valentine's party on Monday and since it snowed last Thursday they didn't get my present until today. I got them pencils...they always say "I need a pencil"...or "I need an eraser!" so I thought it would be the perfect gift!

These were Brooklyn's Valentine's that she gave out to family and friends. They are Tinker Bell (of course!). I would give them to her and tell her to take them to people...she didn't want to give them up.

I know holidays are going to continue getting more and more fun! I can't wait until St. Patrick's Day and Easter! Lots of GREEN and PINK coming your way!!

Snow Day!

The last time it snowed, Brooklyn didn't like it very much...we tried to go out but she didn't want to wear her hat or gloves and she wouldn't go 2 feet from me. This time she LOVED it!! It wasn't freezing outside, so we bundled up and ventured out for a little while. She tried to help me build a snowman...fail! I'm not a good snowman builder! But it was fun trying.

We got out her sand toys so she could play with them in the snow...and she loved them!!

She is the happiest little girl in the world!! And she loves smiling for the camera! CHEESE!! :)

Chloe knocked her over. She didn't complain at all! But she couldn't get up...it was pretty funny watching her try on her own.

She was lovin the snow!

She got all bundled up to go outside...and kept her hat and gloves on the WHOLE time!!

(Sorry the pics are all out of order!)

History

I'm not a history person AT. ALL!! I've dropped history 5 times while being in college! I toughed it out my freshman year (mainly cause my best friend was in the class) and took world history...but I still needed American Nations. I tried taking it online at Pulaski Tech...decided I didn't want to read. I tried it with one professor...he was fun...the content was NOT! That class got dropped after the first test...before I found out my grade. Next semester I tried it again with a different teacher...he was not nice or fun which made the subject even worse! Dropped that one quickly. Last May I tried to take it during intercession. She wanted me to read 4 chapters and take 2 quizzes A NIGHT???!!! You've got to be kidding me. Needless to say I dropped that one after 3 days.

I kept putting it off and thought I'd take it this coming summer...but my advisor had other plans for me. He told me he wouldn't admit me into Internship II (my final semester) if I hadn't taken this class by the end of May. Well there goes my plan of taking it in the summer. So I decided to take it online at ASU Beebe. I didn't want to have to sit in class and transfer grades don't count towards my GPA, only the credit does. It hasn't been too bad. I read everyday in my textbook. Its actually a little interesting (I can't believe I just said that!). I discuss with other people who are taking this class online. I can hold my own in discussions (I learned from Mrs. Henderson in 12th grade). Even if I don't read I can make something up that still sounds smarter than most of the other discussion posts. So, I'm doing pretty well. 50/50 on my first section of discussions. I just turned in my first test. And only 4 more weeks to go!! I'm half-way through!!

This is a big accomplishment for me!

When is it OK to Cry?

I go through stages when it comes to crying...I don't know if I'm the only one or not but it's sorta frusterating.

It all started back when my pastor passed away. I was in 8th grade. Most people don't think that should have such an effect on an 8th grader, but me and my pastor were close. My friends and I hung out at his house riding four-wheelers and fishing. We loved going out there. My church was relatively small so everyone hung out together and were friends. He was the first person I ever knew who passed away unexpectedly. (The only other person I ever knew at the time who died had been my great-grandfather.)

I had just seen him the night before at IHOP. The next day he got hit by a log truck.

I remember getting the call from my best friend. My mom, brother, and I were on our way to JCPenny's. I was sitting in the back seat. It was a Monday. I didn't believe her...I kept telling her that wasn't a funny joke..but she was serious. I was in shock. I couldn't tell my mom so I handed her the phone. I just remember telling her I had to get to church. So much of the next few days were a blur. I just remember crying constantly.

The next week I remember going on a walk around my neighborhood. I was terribly sad. I think a lot while walking and I remember thinking that I couldn't cry anymore. It was over. I had to be strong. I couldn't be this weak anymore. So I quit crying. I didn't cry for a very long time. At least a full year. Then began the stages... I would get hard hearted and not cry for anything...then I would have melt downs and cry at the drop of a hat. Neither stage is very fun.

Right now I'm in the crying stage. I can cry for any reason. I have to say this is the least fun stage. I can look at Brooklyn and just start crying. Tonight I didn't get to go to Zumba becaue I left my student ID at home and I cried. I had been so looking forward to it.

So when is it okay to cry? What constitutes the situation/time when crying is okay? Is it tragedies, happiness... Some people cry all the time while others don't hardly ever cry...Does everyone go through these stages? It's hard for me. I don't want others to have to suffer through the stages. I feel crazy.

Well that's my crying story.