Working on my Resolutions

Okay, so I never stick to them, but I have been thinking of nothing but things that need to change in my life for the past month.
1. CLUTTER GO BYE-BYE!!!
Mine, Chip's, and (especially) Katie's. I need to grit my teeth and cull the mess. I need to figure out how many of one thing my child really needs. Does she need 30 purses or 50 teddy bears? Do I need to hang on to all my magazines? Does Chip need all that old computer junk? Do any of us need a ton of books we will never read again?
2. NO MORE MIDNIGHT MEALS!!!
No more eating every night when Chip gets home. Sure, if you ask I will say I am hungry. I probably am hungry. But you know what ... I don't need a fourth meal. Especially since it is bound to come from a fast food place. And think of the money we will save (surely it won't be spent elsewhere)
3. COOK AT HOME!!!
Fast food is not doing any of us a favor. I can blame the weight after Connor was born on Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas all I want, but it probably has a lot to do with eating fast food several times a week. We probably eat fast food or pizza more than we cook. That has definitely got to stop, from a financial and health stand point.
4. GET CRAFTY!!!
I need to give myself time to create things. Time to disappear into my room for more than 3 minutes at a time. Time to complete a project .... in less than a year. Time to play and do something for myself.
5. BE PATIENT!!!
This will be the hardest. I have no patience whatsoever! Whether we are talking about Katie or letting paint dry. I need to learn to relax.
6. FINISH HOME IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS!!!
We have a ton of stuff that we have bought the materials for and have not done. We have a sink and faucet sitting in the garage for the 1/2 bath (maybe for 2 years now) We have paint for the stairway, paint for Connor's room, paint to finish up our master bedroom. Heck, we need to do everything for the nursery. The pieces are all there, just need to put them together.

I am sure there are a ton more I will think of before New Years Day ... but for now, I need to see about something else that should be a resolution ... GETTING MORE SLEEP!!

Merry Christmas

Well, mostly merry. We headed to Atlanta to spend the holiday with my family. I was planning on staying for a week, but plans changed quickly. We ended up leaving Monday instead of Sunday. We were exhausted from being up all night with the little man, and we did not want to risk the drive. So, we left fairly early Monday and we got to Grammy's house around 6 pm Atlanta time. Connor did great on the trip. He slept the whole way!! We stopped in Anniston at the Target and gave him a bottle while we did some quick shopping. (ran in to the nicest and friendliest people in that Target)
Vince, ronka, and Austin came over for a while and we had some chili and visited. Then Katie scattered her reindeer food in the yard, put out Santa's milk and cookies, and eventually went to bed. It was getting pretty late and I was starting to think Santa would pass her by, but after 5 stories she was sound asleep. Then Grammy, Chip and I stayed up to help Santa with the gifts. It is a good thing that Connor did not have to be asleep or Santa would have never come. Katie woke us up bright and early to tell us that Santa had come.
She was so EXCITED!! We got all the presents opened and stockings unstuffed. Then we had to get ready for the rest of the family to arrive at 2pm. Much cooking and baking ensued.
Katie was ecstatic to see her cousins!! They had a great time playing. Running around screeching seemed to be the majority of it. And of course we got to meet Amelia for the first time. She is such a smiley happy baby!! The cutest mohawk you have ever seen!! Austin did a great job of being the oldest cousin and being "in charge". It was wonderful to just sit around and be able to chat with the whole family. No stress, just hanging out.
Sometime on Monday Connor started wheezing. It got worse on Tuesday. By Tuesday night we were really getting worried, so we decided that the best idea would be to head back to Mississippi so we could take him to his pediatrician. We left at 1 am (12 am central) and arrived in Horn Lake before the doctors office was open, so we hit Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Good thing we did get to eat because the rest of the day flew by. The doc listened to Connor's chest and diagnosed him with bronchialitis, and gave him a breathing treatment. Then they sent us on to Le Bonheur for a chest xray. Results ... Connor has RSV. We were admitted to the hospital, and after 6 hours finally got a room. Luckily, we caught this early. Connor is eating fine, which is one of the main worries. And he is STRONG!! He is up to 12 lbs. 4 oz. They kept us over night to be able to watch him, but since he was doing so well they let us come home Thursday afternoon. He is on antibiotics because they saw some spots on his chest xray that could mean pneumonia. But, like I said, he is a strong little man and he is doing great.

Microwave Fudge

Just adding in something to make the holiday prep a little easier...

my perfect fudge recipe is NO STRESS!! And it only takes about 5 minutes to mix up, 1 hour to harden.

Microwave Fudge

1 lb Confectioners Sugar
1/2 cup Cocoa
1/4 cup Milk
1/4 lb Butter or Margarine
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 cup nuts (optional of coure)
Mix Conf. Sugar and Cocoa to combine. Add milk and butter, don't mix. Microwave uncovered 2 minutes. Stir in Vanilla and Nuts. Pour in container (I suggest you butter it) let harden in refrigerator for 1 hour.

SIMPLE and DELICIOUS!!

Watch out though ... if you get good at the ratios you might find yourself mixing up "personal pan fudge." Yummy!!

My Chubs

We took Connor in for his two month check up this morning. I knew he had grown a good bit and he is definitely a chunky little thing, but I totally did not expect for him to be ELEVEN AND A HALF POUNDS!!! I mean, WOW! From 4 lb. 14 oz. to 11 lb. 8 oz. in under 10 weeks. He is up to 21.25 inches and his noggin is 16 inches. He has quite the melon :) It definitely runs in the family. The doctor even commented on how strong he is. And, of course, he is the cutest little man in the world.

Connor is 2 Months Old

Hard to believe that 2 months have already passed. Our little chunker is growing so big! He is holding his head up pretty good. He is super dooper strong. His hair is still not growing, but it still looks "gingy" to me! Some nights he sleeps pretty good, and if I would just go to bed instead of waiting up for Chip then I would not be exhausted all the time.
Poor guy experienced his first Momma photoshoot last night. I got everything all set up, and got him ready (wasn't hard since I was dooing nakey pictures ;) ), laid him down and took two shots .... and he peed! That boy LOVES to pee at the worst times. I had prepared for it with waterproof pads underneath so I just decided to keep shooting. Chip thinks I am mean for doing nakey pictures, but I think they are absolutely adorable!! Besides, he is 2 months old and you HAVE to have naked pictures of the babies.

Yet another Santa visit

This will go down in history as the year of the Santa. We went back to the mall to get a picture with Connor in it. Of course, this HAD to be done so I guess it is nothing out of the ordinary ... but today Santa will be at Katie's school for pictures. I had luckily sat down and explained to her about multiple Santas. I told her that Santa sends out his elves dressed as Santa to get all the lists of toys for Santa to deliver. He may be magic, but he can't be everywhere at once. I say lucky because there was a different Santa at the mall than two weeks ago. I would never have thought they would change at the same mall. I figured they have one Santa ... looks bad to keep changing him. Maybe one of them had an emergency, but it is confusing for kids. Santa freaks kids out enough without making them question his existence in the middle of a busy mall.
Katie was sweet. She had already told Santa what she wanted last time, so she told Santa what her little brother wanted. I will have to find out what that was :) And then we went to Build-A-Bear. Katie had been begging to go. She even used her own allowance to pay for her new bear. Her name is Sierra (named after Katie's best friend from school). She got her a Mrs. Claus outfit and some sparkly shoes. It really is a cute store. A good experience all around. Maybe she will love this bear more since she created her. Then we hit Ruby Tuesday for dinner.



Yet another trip with the two kiddos without Chip. It isn't impossible, but it is stressful. Guess I will get better at that in time.

Seeing Santa

It always amazes me how contrary kids can be! Last year Katie refused to go anywhere near Santa. She was so freaked out that I did not make her sit on his lap. We even had to tell her that he doesn't come down the chimney like the story says .... he just wiggles his nose and the presents appear in the house magically. So, imagine my surprise when we were at Wolfchase Mall two weeks ago and she insisted she see Santa. She HAD to see him!! I tried to argue that she wasn't dressed, but there was no stopping her. And what could bring on the about-face? What else ... Polly Pocket! She knows that her only hope to get the Polly Pocket Jet is if Santa brings it since Mom and Dad have had enough of Polly Pocket. Katie ran right up to Santa, jumped in his lap, and gave him the biggest hug!! And she sat and chatted with him. Just talking away. She asked for the Jet, and two Polly sets, and a set of Barbie make-up. When Santa asked if she had been a good girl she said "yes ... but Marlin is always bad." She ratted out one of the boys in her class! Hilarious!! Santa was really slow so we got to take a lot of pictures, and she got to take her time talking to him. She did GREAT! Now I just have to take them back so Connor can have his picture taken with Santa!