Weekend Bliss...

I had a really good weekend with Michael and the kids. On Saturday night, my mom kept Ava for a couple hours so that Michael and I could spend a little time together. We went to Breakers where Kim works to shoot some pool and had a really great night together ;-)

I miss him a lot this week. I always do, but when we have such a great weekend together as we just did, I miss him even more.

Tyler, Ava and I went to Field of Dreams to watch Jessica play softball. Jen and Ryan were there as well. I don't see them much anymore, so I enjoyed hanging out with them tonight.

Tomorrow is girls dinner at Stephanie's house. And then on Wednesday Jess is supposed to come over.

I sent out my resume to a few job offers that were posted on Craig's List, so wish me luck :)

Not much to post about right now, obviously....

Just been doing the normal "stay-at-home mommy routine" these days. Getting into a schedule with Ava and managing to get things done around the house at the same time. It's been about 4 and half months since Ava was born and I'm just now getting into a routine, you say? Yes, that is correct. Better late than never I guess. I was pregnant and just didn't feel like doing things, (unless I was nesting. And then Ava was born and I just felt so overwhelmed. It was like, all I could do was focus on one thing, which was taking care of Ava, and everything else just kind of went unnoticed. So it's nice to finally be getting the hang of things around here. :)

Not much else going on in my world...
Goodnight.

I have come to realize that...

-There just isn't enough time in the day.

-I like to cook.
-I really wanna get a walker for Ava.
-I need a job.
-Ava is growing up way too fast for my liking.
-So is Elise.
-I wanna go back to school....
-And finish.
-It is almost impossible to keep a house in order with 3 kids (4 if you count the hubby!), a cat, and a teenage girl (my sister). (I love you all!) :-)
-Laundry is never-ending.
-I got so many diapers in various sizes from my baby shower that I still haven't had to buy any yet... It's about that time now.
-My husband is never home.
-Sometimes it's nice :)
-Other times I miss him terribly :(
-Gas prices are ridiculous!
-Katie is my best friend.
-So is Jennifer.
-I don't see Jennifer enough anymore...
-I have yet to send ANY of Ava's pictures to Walgreens to be developed.
-I really hope my computer doesn't crap out on me one day and cause me to lose all my photos.
-I would be devastated.
-I'd like to take a vacation.
-Too bad money doesn't grow on trees..
-Katie and I make kick-ass diaper cakes! :)
-Ava is asleep in her swing and I need to put her in her crib..
-But I can't do that until I put her sheets/clothes in the dryer.
-Damn! I forgot..
-I should go do that.
-And load the dishwasher.
-And call the hubby to tell him goodnight.

I'm going now...
Here's another survey I did on myspace...

I've Come To Realize

1.I've come to realize that my hair...
-is long and in need of trim...

2. I've come to realize that this weekend...
-I get to spend with the kids and the hubby.

3. I've come to realize that when I'm driving...
-I get completely lost in thought....

4. I've come to realize that I need...
-to go back to school..

5. I've come to realize that I have lost....
-all of the baby weight I gained during the pregnancy and then some...

6. I've come to realize that I hate it when...
-people lie to me... (although it's not something I'm just now realizing.. I've always felt that way..)

7. I've come to realize that my boobs...
-aren't big anymore now that I no longer breast feed...

8. I've come to realize that money...
-doesn't grow on trees. Who knew!?

9. I've come to realize that certain people...
-will never change.

10. I've come to realize that I'll always be…
-me.

11. I've come to realize that I crush on...
-No-one.

12. I've come to realize that my mom...
-is my best friend. The one I look up to. I strive to become at least half the woman she is.

13. I've come to realize that my cell phone is....
-Expensive. But mine.

14. I've come to realize that when I woke up this morning...
-I had a lot to do today.

15. I've come to realize that last night before i went to sleep...
-I cleaned the house and got it ready for the exterminator to come spray...

16. I've come to realize that right now I am thinking about...
-too much. Always am...

17. I've come to realize that my dad...
-is my Daddy and always will be. And that he has worked really hard to become a better person and has come a long way.

18. I've come to realize that when I get on myspace...
-it's because I'm bored and feel like taking a break from the daily chores..

19. I've come to realize that today...
-was busy.

20. I've come to realize that tonight...
-I'm exhausted.

21. I've come to realize that tomorrow I will..
-Babysit Mason for Katie. And babysit the boys for my dad.

22. I've come to realize that I really want to...
-change time to slow motion so my little princess doesn't grow up so fast :(

23. I've come to realize that the person who is most likely to re-post this...
-is probably bored...

Myspace Survey.

80 Things You Might Not Know About Me:

Whats your middle name?
-Renee

How big is your bed?
-King I think..

Relationship Status?
-Married

What are you listening to right now?
-'So you think you can dance?' on TV

What are the last 4 digits in your cellphone number?
-3474

What was the last thing you ate?
-Cooked lasagna for Katie, Matt and I

Last person you hugged?
-My Daddy earlier today.

How is the weather right now?
-Raining off and on. Humid. Sticky. Gross.

Room temp?
-The A/C is set to 77 right now... I just turned it up cuz I was freezing

Who was the last person you talked to?
-Katie and Matt

Who is your last text from?
-Amber

What is the first thing u notice in the opposite sex?
-Attitude.

Favorite type of food?
-Mexican

Ever get so drunk you don't remember the entire night?
-Negative.

Hair color?
-Dyed Burgundy.

Eye color?-Blue

Do you wear contacts/glasses?
-Negative.Perfect vision

Favorite holiday?
-Thanksgiving/Christmas

Favorite season?
-Spring/Fall

Have you ever cried over a girl/boy?
-Who hasn't?

Last Movie you Watched?
-The Eye

What books are you reading?
-I'm almost finished with The Alibi by Sandra Brown. I'm sure I'll finish it tonight cuz I doubt I'll want to put it down! It's pretty good.

Piercings?
-Ears, belly button, nose

Favorite Movie?
-I have a lot of favorites.

What were you doing before filling this out?
-Checking my messages on Myspace.

Any pets?
-Amber's cat Meow-Meow lives here now.I love her!

Dogs or cats?
-I'm not an animal person...

Favorite flower?
-Hibiscus, cala lilly's (sp?) orchids

Have you ever loved someone?
-Of course.

Who would you like to see right now?
-My hubby.

Do you like to travel by plane?
-Never have.

Right-handed or Left-handed?
-Right.

If you could go to any place right now, where would you go?
-Beach in Jamaica.

Are you missing someone?
-The hubby. And Tyler.

Do you have a tattoo? How many?
-Yes. Too many.

Do you still watch cartoons on Saturday mornings?
-Negative.

Are you hiding something from someone?
-Not at all.

Are you 18?
-I was 4 years ago.

What is the wallpaper on your cell phone?
-Ava and I.

Did you get enough sleep last night?
-HA! That's impossible these days... It could always be worse...
-I get enough to function like a normal human being... maybe.LOL

First thing you thought about this morning?
-I cant believe Ava is still asleep..

What do you have handy at your bedside?
-Cell phone/charger. Baby monitor. My book. Lamp.

What makes you unique?
-I'm just me.

Are you afraid of the dark?
-No

Favorite hangout?
-Home.

5 Things you cant live without?
***I'm gonna change this to---5 things you WOULDN'T WANT to live without...****
-All my loved ones.
-Sonic drinks :)
-Cell phone
-Computer
-Vehicle

What are you afraid of?
-A lot of things scare me... Losing my loved ones and failure, to name a couple..

What are your nicknames?
-Pumpkin, baby, muffin (haha)

What is your dads middle name?
-James

What is your mothers middle name?
-Renee

You were going to a deserted island, by yourself and could only take one thing what would it be?
-Water.

Who's your cell phone provider?
-Sprint

First item you'll save in a fire besides a person or animal?
-Filing cabinet with our important paperwork? LOL
-Ava's memory box/baby book

What are your favorite color(s)?
-Blue, Pink

Are there things you always take with you?
-Ava, purse/cell, keys, diaper bag.

What did you wanna be when you were a kid?
-Teacher/Nurse

What do you usually do when the clock turns 11:11?
-Nothing.

What do you think about before you go to bed?
-What do I NOT think about?!

Who was the last person you kissed?
-Ava

Welcome to the real world, Ashley...

Yesterday morning Jennifer's sister Stephanie kept Ava for me so that I could go to my appointment with Burnett Staffing at 11:30. For those of you who may not already know, Burnett is a staffing agency that places you in either temporary jobs or temp-to-hire. I have used them before which is why I chose to start off with them in my search for a job. I had already completed all the testing and filled out all the paperwork, so I figured I would just try using them again first so as to save me a little trouble in not having to test and so forth at another temp agency. I went in to re-do all my paperwork since my last name is now different as well as my address. To my surprise, I ended up having to re-test any way because it has been a little over a year since I last used them. It wasn't a big deal though. I took 3 of the tests while I was there and they are emailing me the other 2 parts to complete.

I am going to apply for a dental assistant position tomorrow as well. Part of me really... and I mean really wants to work... but on the other hand, I'm a bit sad that I wont have near as much time to spend with my little girl. As the title says- Welcome to the real world, Ashley! That's life for you. People have to leave their kids all the time to work in order to pay the bills and take care of their families. I guess I should be happy that I have been able to spend as much time as I have with her. And I am. I am very thankful for that. I just know that it's gonna upset me so bad the day I go pick her up from the babysitter and she tells me she said her first word. Or took her first step. I don't wanna miss out on those things and I'm sad that I have to come to the realization that that's just the way things have to be. I guess I'll get over it...

I'm not really going full force on the job search just yet. If Burnette calls me for a job, or if I happen to get the position for the dental assistant, that'll be cool. But as far as going on numerous interviews and so forth.. I think I'm gonna hold off on that just a little bit longer. I guess right now it's more of a "if it happens, it happens" kinda of thing.

Moving on.

I took Ava to JcPenny for her pictures today as I mentioned in a previous post. I'm not sure that I was really all that impressed with them. Maybe I just got a bad photographer today. I don't know. A couple of them were pretty good I guess. Honestly, it's probably best that they didn't turn out better or I would have wanted to buy them all. Then I really would have been in trouble! LOL I get them on the 5th and they are also supposed to email them to me, so I'll for sure have them up as soon as I get them.

After pictures, Ava and I picked Elise up from daycare and headed to the house. I fed Ava and then we went over to Raina's house next door to visit. The girls always enjoy playing with Elise and Raina and I got to talk a little and catch up on things. We have both been so busy lately that we haven't had much time to chit-chat, so that was nice. Elise and I also went by the store so she could pick something out for her Mom and Coach (step-dad) for their Anniversary. Of course she picked out a fuzzy picture coloring book for herself! LOL She wanted to color a picture for them. When we went to the register to check out she saw these flowers that were made of actual feathers and decided that she also wanted to get that for them. She picked out a pink one. I picked up a card for them last night as well.

After playing with the girls, we came home and played/colored for a little bit before heading off to girls dinner at Katie's house. I brought Elise's night clothes and bath stuff over there so i could bathe her and get her ready for bed before bringing her home.

I always enjoy spending time with the kids. Tyler is a teen now and isn't really interested in spending time with good ole step-mom, but he has his days and I always enjoy them. It's usually when he doesn't take his medication. Michael and I don't give him his day medicine anymore because it just makes him a zombie! Poor kid. He doesn't like taking it anymore and doesn't want too, but there isn't much we can do about that just yet. His mom knows we don't give him his med's when he is here, and she said that was up to us.. but she still gives it to him. His night meds stay in his system, so he has to take those no matter what, of course. Any how, when he doesn't take his day medicine he is in such a great mood. Yea, he talks your head off! Yea, he's hyper. Yea, you have to get on to him a little more some times. He's a kid! That's how it should be! I just see so much change in him when he isn't on it. He doesn't mind spending time with us. He interacts with us and Ava. He doesn't just sit on his game ALL day long. He doesn't complain about running errands and so forth. He more or less just goes with the flow. He's fun to be around and I think that's good. It's really hard to do things as a family when there is such a big age difference in the kids... I love family time and I wish it were a little easier to make everyone happy to be spending time together. People try to say..'remember when you were that age' and yes, I do remember. And I personally always enjoyed spending time with my family.. up until I got to the age of 15 or 16. But even then, I still liked spending time with them, but I usually had better things to do.. LOL Any ways... I'm rambling...

I should probably get to bed...

Baby Bathrobe

I found this bathrobe in a little box of Elises baby stuff. Mike didnt have much, but this was in it, along with a hat and a bib and a couple other things. I thought it was so cute! So here is my little peaches after her bath.

B-O-R-ing...

There wasn't a whole lot going on this weekend. Michael didn't come home this Friday because they decided to work Saturday. Ava and I went over to Stephanie's with Katie and Matt and few friends. Jason made some burgers on the pit and we all just hung out. When we left there, Michael was home waiting for us, so Ava and I spent the rest of the evening with him.

On Sunday, Michael worked on the garage. I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not, but he is building a wall dividing the garage in half. We are making a room in one half of the garage and using the other half for storage. Amber will be staying out there. He has a majority of the wall up already and once he finishes that we will have to tape and float it. Then A/C and carpet. Amber's pretty excited. While he worked on that this Sunday, Ava and I went to church. I scheduled her dedication for the end of August, so I'm pretty stoked about that. :)

Tomorrow I am taking Ava to Jc Penny for her 4 month portraits. ONLY because I have a coupon-$7.99 for a package, no sitting fee. Woo-Hoo! YA, for coupons!

After her pictures, I'm picking Elise up from school and spending the rest of the day with her. For a while there, it seemed as though we had Elise around a lot more than usual. I guess I got used to it, and now it seems like it's been forever since I've seen her! Tomorrow is Melanie and Jamie's Anniversary, so that works out perfect. I'm glad they are letting me have her for a few hours.

Wednesday, the exterminator is coming to get rid of these dang fleas! Michael's sister Kelli took Cookie and ever since she has been gone they have been horrible! Yes... we got rid of yet another dog. I think I have finally come to terms with the fact that I am not a very good caregiver when it comes to animals... So no more pups for us!

Thursday and Friday I will be keeping Mason for Katie while she works. Mason is 3 weeks younger than Ava... I watched him a couple days last week for her as well. I will admit, it's tough with 2 little ones so close in age. But it's OK. I don't see how people do it with twins! I guess they don't really have a choice, huh? LOL

Pretty boring around here...

P.s.- I have been giving Ava rice cereal lately, but today I bought some pears, peaches and bananas to start feeding to her as well. She had the pears today and absolutely loved them! I wonder what she will think of the bananas? I loved them when I was little, but can't stand them now.

My Messy Little Girl!

I have a few more photos that Amber took last week when I was feeding Ava her rice cereal. It was EVERYWHERE! Even in her eyes! Poor thing. LOL! A bath was for sure needed after this feeding. Thankfully we have gotten it down a little better now and there isn't *as much* of a mess.

Weekend Pictures

Just a few more pictures from this weekend...

Harley stayed the night here Friday night with Elise. I got Elise this Dora hop scotch water game so the girls played with that for a while and then when Michael got home we gave Elise her scooter that we forgot to give her on her birthday. Saturday we helped Katie and Matt move and the girls colored and helped us unpack a little.

Michael has been out of town for a few weeks now, only coming home on the weekend. He says this job will be a couple more months long... Pretty sure this out of town crap will never end. I try to be understanding and not complain about it but I really don't see me dealing with it forever... Hopefully he doesn't allow it to ruin yet another family. He doesn't get very good service out there either, so that doesn't help the situation. I always wonder what he is up too..

But anyways, Ava, Tyler and I are doing well. Tyler is making really good grades in his Science class for summer school, so that's good. Hopefully he will do better next year and won't have to do this summer school stuff again. He is so smart, he just doesn't apply himself. I'm hoping to help change that.

Not much else going on around here...

Jump and Go!

I put Ava in her Excersaucer Jump and Go the other day just to see how she would do in it. She sits so far down in it that she isn't really able to reach her hands up to touch the toys... I think she is still too little for this one but it was cute while it lasted.

Saturday Night Out

This Saturday night Amber kept Ava so that Michael and I could go out for a while. First we went to a Sushi Bar in Sante Fe to meet our neighbors Eric and Raina and a bunch of their family and friends for Eric's birthday celebration. Most of them were buzzing pretty good by the time we got there. LOL We had a drink with them and then headed to the Comedy Club to meet up with a few of our friends, some of them including Katie, Matt, Mike's friend George and his date and a few of Katie and Mat ts friends. It was my first time to go to a comedy show and I really enjoyed it! That's something I wouldn't mind doing again. After the show we went over to the Nutty Bar and met up with Stephanie for a few drinks. Here are a couple pictures from the Comedy Club. I also have a photo of Mike and I with Eric and Raina at the sushi bar but Ill have to get that up later.



Here is the photo of Raina, Mike, Eric and I celebrating for Eric's birthday. I think Raina has a couple more photos. Maybe I'll have her email them to me.

Yea, Right...

I got this from Cloggsy's blog page. Click on the picture below to find out what reading level your blog is. Obviously it isn't very accurate, as I am FAR from being a genius, but oh well. :)

TV Reviews

It's up..

Just posted the slide show with pics from July 3rd at Big Texas to see Roger Creager, July 4th, and Elises birthday on July 6th as well as a few other pics.

Not much to post about right now. Been crazy busy, as usual. Loving the new vehicle! :)

***My girl is four months today!***

Sleeping Beauty

As of June 27th, 2008, my little munchkin now sleeps in her crib. I honestly didn't think this day would come so soon. I loved having her sleep next to me and it made me feel more comfortable to be able to wake up and see her breathing next to me. My cousin lost her baby to SID's and I guess it just worries me. But I decided that maybe it was time to give it a try and see how she does. So far, so good. She seems to sleep a little better in there, so that's good.

I bought her some step 1 Gerber Applesauce today and mixed a little of that with her rice cereal and she went to town! She cried when I didn't get it in her mouth fast enough! LOL Mike says Elise did the same thing and so did I when I was a baby.

It seems like she is reaching these milestones SO FAST! I just cant believe how fast time is flying by! She has 2 little bumps on the left and right sides of her top gums which I'm pretty sure are her teeth coming in. I think it'll still be a while before they break through the gums, but its getting close. She sure has been fussy this last week which is unusual for her, as she is a pretty good baby.

Ill try to get started on the slide show tonight. Hopefully I'll get it up soon.

So much to do, so little time...

For some reason, I just can't ever seem to find the time to sit down and write a proper blog post lately. Things have been crazy busy, which seems to have become a constant around here. Part of me loves it. It feels good to stay busy and to have numerous activities planned with the kids and the family. Another part of me is absolutely exhausted! But I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm not sure whether I mentioned it in an earlier post or not, but Ava, my Aunt Tami and I all went out to Louisiana on the 24th to visit the family and see my cousin Andrew that was pretty severely hurt in a car accident. It has been about a year or so since I have been out there, so I really enjoyed that. Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw sure did love having Ava there. I got a few cute pictures of Ava with Paw-Paw's rosary but Ill save the pictures for later.

On Thursday my mom kept Ava for a couple hours so Mike and I could go see Roger Creager at Big Texas. My sister Amber and her friend Creighton came with us and we all met Mikes best friend Tanner and his wife Natalie there. It was really nice getting out and we definitely enjoyed it. I have pictures from Big Texas as well, but again.. Ill post those later. I think I will just make another slide show since there are so many.

On Friday Harley and I went shopping for Elise's birthday. I picked up some new clothes for her, as well as a little princess scooter for her. It's made like a tricycle, with 2 wheels on the back and one on the front. I think she'll really like it. We stopped in at Party City and picked up a bunch of decorations for her birthday party that we planned to have for her Sunday (today) at 1. We decided on a luau/beach theme. Ill get back to the party details a little later... Fortunately, the rain finally stopped Friday evening, so the celebration was still on. Michael, Tyler, Ava and I, as well as my Dad, Kim, and their boys went to Mikes Dads Fourth of July Party at 6:30. It was also Dale's 60th birthday celebration as well. We ate lots of food, visited and had an awesome view of all the fireworks! Katie, Matt and Mason also met us out there just in time to catch the show.

Saturday (yesterday) Michael and I went to Carmax and got my new car! :) That was exciting. It's and '05 Expedition in extremely good condition. Almost looks brand new. It even has a DVD player and a sunroof in it. We got it for a pretty good price. I love it!

After that, I picked up Harley and Evan to come stay the night here and Mike and I spent the rest of the day cleaning up the house for the party. I called the Great American Cookie Co. and ordered Elise's cookie cake for the party. Harley and I put together all the goody bags before bed. I got up around 7:15 ish this morning and got ready for the day and then Harley and I began decorating. I thought I got up in plenty of time, but every time I turned around, there was just "one more thing to do." LOL So unfortunately, I was about 15 minutes late getting Elise, but I wanted to have everything ready for her when she got home to surprise her. Harley, Evan, Elise and I went straight to the church after picking Elise up. Mason got baptized this morning. Elise was so well behaved in church! I was so proud of her. She always such a good little girl. After church we stopped by Kroger to pick up a few last minute items for the party and rushed home just in time for the party to start. Matter of fact, Mikes Mom was already here when we got here. Elise was really surprised and seemed to like it all. :) Of course she was a little shy at first, but that wore off.

The kids played, and then we did the cake and presents. Elise got quite a few things! She got a bunch of clothes, a couple baby dolls, a huge mermaid set of make up, the leapfrog learning game, a swimming pool...etc. And of course, the scooter that Mike and I TOTALLY forgot to give her! How bad is that!? We kept it in the closet with ribbons on it and I was going to bring it out once she open all her gifts, but it completely slipped my mind until after I took her home. LOL! Oh well, she'll have it next time she comes. The kids all went swimming and also played on the water slide in the back yard, so it's probably best that we didn't give it to her today anyways. She would have wanted to ride it out front and there were just too many kids here to be able to keep an eye on them out front as well as the others out back.

The kids all seemed to have had a really good time, and that's awesome! I was really excited to throw her a party this year. I wish I could throw Tyler one too, but he's at that age now where he just isn't interested. LOL

I think the party turned out really well. I was pleased. Exhausted, but pleased. :)

Tomorrow, Katie is going to help me take the Suburban back out to Humble and drop it off at Chris' since we no longer need it. Tyler is starting another summer school class tomorrow. Science, I believe. So it's back to the early-early mornings. Its cool though. I seem to get a little more accomplished when I'm up bright and early.

I think I have pretty much caught up on the events of the last few days...

Ava has been really fussy this week. She really hasn't been herself lately. The last 2 days, it's really shown. It's almost like she is getting sick, but she isn't running a fever or anything? I thought maybe she was teething, but I'm not sure. She is losing her voice. It's really hoarse. Poor pumpkin. I hope everything is OK.. I may take her to the doctor on Tuesday. She is due for her 4 month checkup in a few days any way.

Goodnight.

Rice Cereal

My little chunky monkey seems to think that she is being starved. And let me tell you, that certainly is NOT the case. Her tummy and thighs are proof enough. LOL

I decided to try giving her some rice cereal. So 2 days ago, I fed it to her with a spoon. She did well with it the first time, but she doesn't seem to like it much now. She makes this face like it's an awful taste. So I mix it with her bottle once or twice a day now, one of those times being her last feeding before bed. This seems to be helping.

Of course I have to share the pictures that I have... Eating Rice Cereal with a spoon for the first time

06-29-08

She didn't care too much for it the second time around..
Look at that face

Quite entertaining, I must say...

Ava was in her swing, fussing. I walk into the room, only to find this...

As soon as the song ended... She started crying... So he played it again.

Hilarious.

Showin off her ponytail...

I cant wait till I can put some cute bows in her hair :)