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2012-01-24T09:34:00.000-06:00

Hey guys! Happy New Year! Oh, what's that? You say that it's already the 24th and that I'm way late on wishing you a Happy New Year? Yeah, that figures, but better late than never I always say. Lol. Anywho, this year is proving to be just like last year and the year before that, and by that I mean that it is already flying by. It seems like just yesterday we were counting down to 2012 and now here we are into the second month of the year almost. So what's been going on with me?

School: School started back up and I am taking Comp II, History before ___(Don't remember what year is supposed to go in the blank), Art appreciation and the dreaded math. I'm horrible at math, I mean like, beyond horrible. If I had to choose to take math classes forever or die an early death, I'd gladly say my goodbyes and get ready to croak. Seriously, math is just so tough for me. So, this is my second remedial course and I'm not totally sure that I'm going to enjoy this semester. Last semester, despite hating math, I enjoyed going to class and really felt like I was learning and accomplishing so much. My teacher was amazing and wonderful and it was just great. This time however, my teacher is my age, as in 25, has only been teaching for 2 years and just doesn't have that spunk that good, experienced teachers do. Plus it really annoys me when people with no kids complain about how crazy and busy their lives are. I just sit there and roll my eyes when she goes on her tangent about how her dogs are so hyper and she's so busy at work and blah blah blah. Lady, unless you are responsible for raising baby humans, changing diapers, feeding, bathing, and anything else that comes along with babies, you are NOT that busy. So, with that said, school is going okay so far. Lol.

Sean: Sean turned 26 yesterday (How cool his birthday is 123, right? Anyone?) and I can't believe how much we've grown since we began dating. Sean and I have been together since we were 19 (with a few breaks in between) and so it's blowing my mind to think that we truly are growing old together. While being older is scary to me, it's also such a blessing to be able to grow old with the man I also grew up with. I hope I live to be 99 so I can say I've been with my husband for 80 years! Some people dream of being a star or being rich, but not me. I just dream of being super old. Lol. Anyway, happy birthday Pookie Bear! Oh, and before I forget, if you're ever in Houston, you should definitely try this sushi restaurant we discovered. Holy Egg-rolls, people. We stumbled on this place after we went to several restaurants that all had wait times of an hour or more. Had it not been Sean's birthday, we just would've gone to Jack in the Box, that's how frustrated we were. After finding this place, it made up for every bit of craziness we endured in trying to find a place to eat. The name: Ra Sushi. The Food: Amazing. Atmosphere: So cool! It was like a club in a restaurant. Definitely not a quiet place, but super fun and relaxed and did I mention the food was amazing? We had lobster rolls that were served with lemon cream sauce, their "Chips and salsa" which was actually wonton chips served with ceviche, and last but not least, we had their fishbowl drink, which was literally served in a glass big enough to be a fish bowl. It was awesome and we will totally go there again!

Not sure what's in it, but OH MAN!

Delish!

So. Good.

Offspring: My sweet little nuggets are doing wonderfully. Jaxon is so big and so smart and so perfect. He is really starting to thicken up quite a bit and his days of being tall and lanky are over. He has the most ghetto booty I've ever seen on a child, and muscular thighs and a fat little belly. He's built just like his hot daddy, which means I'm going to have to mace all the girls to keep them off him. Layton is also doing wonderfully and will be 2 next month. TWO!!!!!!!! When did my baby turn into a little girl? I'm having a bit of anxiety about her party not being planned yet (I am a meticulous planner of parties) but we are waiting until Sean gets back from working out of town to plan her party so he doesn't miss it.

Other than that, it's the same ol' same ol'. Work, school, homework, babies, cleaning, hubby, dog, and whatever else is on my plate that I forget about. It's a crazy life sometimes, but it's the life God has planned for me and I'm blessed to lead it. What have you been up to? Any New Years resolutions you've been working on?

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T15:00:00.000-06:00

2011 was an amazing year for me for so many reasons. I am completely blessed and I feel like this past year was a growing period in my life. I've grown as a woman, wife, mother, daughter in Christ and friend, and it's been awesome. So as sad as I am to see 2011 leave, I am excited to see what 2012 has in store! Every year my resolutions are always the same, lose ~~a metric ton of~~ weight, stop eating chocolate, donate more, stop physically abusing Sean, be a better person, etc, and while those are good resolutions I guess, I feel like in order for me to accomplish something this year, they need to be more specific and I need to write them down and share them with people so I can actually be accountable for once. I don't want to look back at my list in July and say "Pshhh, I haven't stuck with my goals so screw it!" I want this year to be the year I actually put effort into my goals and see them realized. So, I am sharing my list with anyone who cares to read it, and my hope is that I am motivated and encouraged by friends/family to get 'er done, and to be able to look at this in a few months and feel like I've made progress. Here she goes:

Poor number one! You're still welcome when I'm changing diapers! (Get it? I'd rather change a number one diaper than a number two diaper?)

2012 Resolutions:
1. Be at a healthy weight (I won't say that I have to be a certain number on a scale to meet this goal, I just need to be at a weight that doesn't make me want to jump out the window when I weigh myself) which means I need to lose at least 20lbs. Sad face.

2. Read the bible, cover to cover (I know, I know, I should've already done this by age 15 months or something, but I promise I'm not a monster for not having done this yet. I'm excited about it though! Plus I need to be able to recite verses for when I encounter nay-sayers, scallywags and atheists so I can school them on what the Word says!)

3. Build up our savings (Which means spending less money on eating out, unnecessary items, etc. I want my babies to have their college paid in full when they graduate high school!)

4. Tithe (Again, I feel like a Lucifer Jr. not giving 10% of our income faithfully, so I am really going to try to budget this in so that we make sure we are tithing properly)

5. Be accountable in all things (This means calling people back when I say I will, being on time, making sure everything I do is done to my best ability)

6. Be resilient and strong; don't let things that don't matter worry me (There are certain things and people that always get me down and always hurt my feelings. I've put my heart and soul into these relationships or circumstances and then end up being heart broken when those people let me down or things don't turn out the way they should. I need to be devoting the time and effort I spend on worrying about those negative things on my family, friends, work, God and things that make me happy and feel good about myself.)

So that's my list! It seems like a lot, but really these are things I should be working on daily anyway. When I think about my sweet babies and my family and friends, I owe it to them as well as myself to make these things happen this year! What about you? What are your resolutions? Did you meet your goals from last year's resolutions? I hope your New Year was fabulous and wonderful!

Howdy!

2011-12-30T10:57:00.001-06:00

* I thought I posted this entry back in September, but like the rocket scientist I am, I realized that I never finished it and it was just sitting in my drafts folder. The blogging part of my brain is underdeveloped apparently. So, if you're reading this, it was written circa September 25th-ish.

It's me, I'm alive and not dead in a ditch somewhere as I'm sure you assumed by now since I haven't posted anything since 1935. Just kidding, it's been like, 3 weeks, but it feels like forever. I've been busy with the kids, school, work, and we added a marriage growth group on Friday nights to our schedule. The hubby and I have gone twice now and we've loved it both times. It's always refreshing and rewarding for me to make more time for God during my week (I know that sounds awful that I don't put Him first every day, but I'm being honest here.) Sometimes it feels like Sunday is the only day when you really reflect on how blessed you are, and how amazing our God truly is, and then Monday-Saturday its back to being a selfish brat. I'm not talking about me, but you know, about, uhhh...other selfish brats. Anyway, so on top of my already enormous pile of responsibilities, I've added a few more, so I've been bad at keeping up with my blog. Not that any of you are losing sleep over me not posting something new in 5 years, lol.

Anyway, so to catch you up on the past few weeks, my best friends from Odessa, Ashley and Lindsey came to see me and we had a wonderful time. Among some of the awesome things we did were spending the day at the beach, going to the fabulous mall (the mall in Odessa is like a step up from being a Good Will) went to Kemah, ate at some fabulous places (Odessa is also lacking in the fine dining department) went dancing, etc. There were some hectic times being that my two, single girlfriends were staying with me and my two babies, husband and puppy, but overall it was amazing to have them here for 5 days and I wish we could see each other more often. They've seen me through thick and thin, and I love them so much!

My beautiful little ginger, Ashley!

The peanut butter to my jelly, Lindsey!

Jaxon's 5th birthday is on October 4th (as well as mine, I had him on my 20th birthday!) and we are planning a Hot Wheel's themed birthday party at Papa Louie's house. I have rented a water slide and we plan to BBQ and just hang out with friends and family. My family from Odessa will not be able to make it unfortunately, but we're going to have a blast anyway! I'm having a little anxiety about being 25. I know, I know, that's not even old, but I just feel like life is flying by so fast and that I am trying so hard to keep up.I just feel like I was supposed to have so much more accomplished by now, have traveled so much more, should be in a better financial state, etc. I just need to ~~take a xanax~~ chill and remember that God's in control and I'm exactly where I'm meant to be, right? Right. Thank you for reading!

Recipe time!

2011-12-30T10:49:00.000-06:00

Time for an awesome recipe that my mother in-law shared with me. Now, let me just say that I have a "recipe" tab on my blog but don't know how to use it. So, until I figure it out, recipe posts will be mixed in with regular posts. Capiche? Okay! Let's get started. This recipe is SO easy and so awesome.

OREO BALLS

1 pkg reg size Oreo cookies, crushed

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened

1 pkg white almond bark

1 pkg chocolate almond bark

Using a blender or hand held mixer, mix oreos and cream cheese together.

Roll into walnut size balls.

Chill for an hour.

Melt approx 3/4 pkg of white almond bark.

Stick a toothpick in an Oreo ball and dip it in the melted white almond bark.

Allow to harden on wax paper. Takes about 15 minutes.

While waiting, melt about 1/4 pkg of chocolate almond bark.

When Oreo balls are not longer sticky to the touch, decorate with drizzles of chocolate and white almond bark. (I just use a sandwich bag with a tiny hole cut in one corner to drizzle the almond bark.

Prep time: 2hrs Total time: 2hrs Yield: 25-35 walnut size candies

Yes, they look like turds, but they are best dang turds you'll ever eat!

*Here's what I did differently:
Instead of using white almond bark I only used the chocolate (I think it just tastes better) and because I am cheap/lazy, I didn't decorate them after they were dipped in chocolate. Unfortunately, there were many times my oreo ball fell off the toothpick into the bark. After that happened about 1457 times, and the balls started to fall apart in the chocolate, I just said to heck with it and poured the chocolate on top of the balls. The balls didn't get chocolate on the bottom of them obviously, but they still looked and tasted great and they stayed in tact. Also, my chocolate wouldn't melt down to a runny consistency. It was always thick and started to burn once I tried to melt it down more. I've heard of adding vegetable oil to the chocolate to get it runnier, but that sounded gross, so I used a bit of milk 'til I got it to the consistency I could work with, and they came out great! Happy eating!

Where has the time gone?

2011-12-30T10:28:00.000-06:00

Seriously, y'all. This is nuts! How is it almost 2012? How is it that Christmas ran it's fast little butt all the way here, stayed for about .5 seconds and is now gone leaving behind nothing but memories, boxes and wrapping paper? I say it all the time, but really, time just flies by and it's not a good thing. I feel like I can't get caught up on anything anymore and it's just crazy. Even though the holidays are always crazy and hectic, the memories made are always well worth it. This Christmas was no exception! The great thing about Christmas this year is that I took a ton of pictures! I'm usually a crazy picture taking fool (I believe in taking as many picture of your babies as humanly possible) but haven't been able to take many pictures lately since our camera broke. Well guess what Santa (cough*my in-laws*cough) brought me? This bad boy right here, that's what!

Love, love love! It even has a video camera built in! Now all I need is a tri-pod....you know, for uh, pictures of the kids (; (Totally a joke, just FYI)

Yes, I am totally blessed and my in-laws got me this amazing camera. I had asked for a new camera because pictures are so important to me, and being that my in-laws usually get me amazing things for Christmas I was pretty sure I'd get one, but I burst into tears when I saw my new camera! I just couldn't believe they had gone above and beyond what I had expected. Best surprise ever!

So the camera was at the top of my wish list this year, along with a few other things. I usually don't ask for much for Christmas because I think it's about the kids and making them happy, but this year I decided to truly put the things I wanted on my list just in case Sean did plan on getting me something. I asked for the following:

LOVE these boots! I showed these to Sean praying he'd get me either the exact ones or something very similar and not something hideous, and he got these EXACT ones! 5 gold husband stars!

Love Jessica Simpson, love how this stuff smells!

Love this peacoat! I can wear a trash bag underneath this and still feel classy and sophisticated!

Let me just say that this Christmas was the best one I've ever experienced, hands down. I got EVERYTHING I asked for! Gifts of course are not what made this Christmas so amazing. What did make it so incredible was the time spent with family and friends, and the memories made. I was able to spend Christmas with my family and friends in Odessa (we went the week before Christmas), I watched my two precious stinkers tear through their gifts like a pack of rabid hyenas, I was able to spend the day with both sets of in-laws (Sean's dad and step-mom and Sean's mom and step-dad) and laugh, eat good food, take pictures, and really just bask in the presence of hte wonderful people God has blessed me with. I will post pictures of my nuggets on Christmas day after I get them uploaded from my fancy-schmancy camera!

I hope your Christmas was blessed and filled with food, family, and friends as well! Thank you for reading!

Happy Turkey Day, you little Turkeys!

2011-11-23T11:47:00.001-06:00

Where in tarnation did this year go? Thanksgiving already?! It's crazy to me how fast time flies by, and I've been made more aware of that since I've become a mommy. Watching my babies grow has been a blessing more great than I could EVER, ever deserve and I am so thankful for the life I've been given! Here's a list of some other things I'm thankful for: (Not in any particular order)

1. My family. My husband can definitely be a stinker, but he's more wonderful and adorable and precious than any man I've ever met. I'm thankful I get to spend the rest of my life with him! My babies, there are just no words for how thankful I am for them as well. My Mom, Step-Dad, Sister, Brother and Niece are also amazing and wonderful and I'm so thankful for them as well. Oh, and can't forget my in-laws. We may not have always seen eye to eye, but oh man, how I've grown to love and appreciate the blessings that are my Mother and Step-Mother in law and Father and Step-Father in law, and all the rest of my in-laws.

2. My job, car, roof over my head, food in my belly and other things I take for granted EVERY day, yet should thank God for everyday. As a chain email I received once said, I am living better than 90% of the people on earth just because I have those things, and clothes on my back, clean drinking water, electricity, etc. How humbling is that? I, the person who complains about not having enough clothes or a new car, lives better than so many people. I'm darn blessed and thankful for those things.

3. Friends! Oh, how blessed am I to have such amazing friends! So many wonderful people in my life, too many to name one by one, but those who take the cake (Ashley, Bethany and Lindsey), you girls support me and uplift me when I am down and give me the love and acceptance I need to feel at my best. I love y'all!

4. God, for His Salvation, Mercy, His Word and sending His Son to die for my sins. Lord, you have blessed me more richly than I could ever deserve and You love me unconditionally when I am unlovable. You have saved me and I will always have faith in You and praise your glorious name!

Of course I have a million more things I am thankful for, but that list is too long, so I'll just sum it up by wishing everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving! Thanks for reading!

Tired

2011-10-12T11:22:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all,

For the 1.3 people who read my blog and may have actually missed me (I haven't written a post in over a month! Geeze!) I have a treat for you..................this post! Sorry, that was lame and this isn't cool enough to be considered a treat, but anyway....

I'm been super tired, super stressed and feeling blah lately. I feel like I can't catch up or do all of the things that are expected of me. I feel like there aren't enough hours in the day, and I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in weeks. School is making me feel like a crazy person, I have more laundry than China has rice and I just don't know what to do to get out of this place where I feel like I'm falling apart. I've been really trying to have faith that God will provide everything I need to be okay, and that I need not worry about anything because it's all in his hands, but that is so hard to do. Friends, family, please pray for me, my kiddos and my marriage. I feel like I'm losing my way.

On a brighter note, my babies are beyond precious (that hasn't changed) and last night we tried on their Halloween costumes from last year to see if they fit (not that I'm a ghetto momma who would make them wear their old costumes, I promise) and of course they had both grown like weeds and looked so silly bustin' out of their seams in their costumes.

Tell me that these are not the cutest little bustin'-out-of-their-clothes-'cause-they're-too-fat babies and I will say you are crazy!

Jaxon was Spider Man last year and Layton was wearing her old Kitty suit. Poor Jaxon looked like a little fat sausage stuffed into it's casing, LMAO. Hope y'all have a great day!

Don't worry, I'm still alive

2011-09-08T16:36:00.000-05:00

............and not lying naked, dead in a ditch somewhere. I've just been super crazy insanely busy with homework and my two little poo poo monsters that I haven't even had time to shave my legs. Wait, I don't really do that much anyway, but you get the idea. Anyway, hopefully I can make some yummy recipes and take some cute pics in the next few days to upload. I hope everyone is having a super duper expialadocious (sp?) week!

Happy Labor Day!

2011-09-02T16:52:00.000-05:00

It's Friday, you ain't got a job............ (name the movie and I'll give you a nickel), anyway, it's Friday and we have a 3 day weekend, can I get a woo hoo? I have no plans because ~~I'm broke as a joke and live the life of a 90 year old woman~~ Sean is working all weekend and I'll have the kids and our new puppy to take care of. Yes, we have a new puppy and I'm a little less than thrilled about it. I mean, don't get me wrong, she's adorable and all that jazz, but I already clean up my kid's poop and I really don't feel like adding another creatures poop to that. Plus puppies chew everything, bark/cry at night, and their teeth are so sharp. I just plain don't want a dog right now!

We named her Maggie. It has a nicer ring to it than "Spoiled rotten horrible monstrosity"

I know, I know, I'm a cold hearted monster, but let me explain. I was a very young mom. I had Jaxon on my 20th birthday and before I had him, I paid ALL of my bills for as long as I can remember. As in my parents paid for nothing, nada, zilch. So fast forward to now, I'm 24 with 2 babies, a husband, a house to clean, bills to pay, a full time job and just started school. I don't have the time, nor the energy to take on any more responsibility. I feel like I've had more responsibility in the last 5 years than most people do in their life. I just want to handle everything on my plate right now without adding anything else to it. Don't get me wrong, I love animals and have always talked about having a dog in the future, but I felt about dogs the way grandparents feel about their grand kids. They're cute, adorable, whatever, but let me play with them for a while and then send them home. I just imagined that we'd have dogs when our kids were older and could help a bit more with responsibilities, you know? Does that make you think I'm any less of a monster? No? Tough crowd. Anyway, my husband and kids absolutely adore the dog already and she is already part of the family. Sean thinks of her as his daughter and I think of her as your drunk cousin that always ruins family events. Okay, well maybe Maggie is way cuter than a drunken cousin, but she's still a pain in the rear.

(Secret confession: She is absolutely adorable and I love her too but refuse to admit it to anyone. Sean if you read this, it's opposite day.)

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

2011-08-30T16:34:00.000-05:00

I made this over the weekend and it was pretty good. I wouldn't say I loved it so much that I wanted to throw it on a tarp and roll around in it in my swim suit, but my husband said it was amazing, and he went back for seconds and thirds, so that speaks volumes.

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

1 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup

1 1/2 soup can milk

1 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 1/3 of a 1-pound package rotini pasta or medium shell pasta (about 1 1/2 cups), cooked and drained

1 1 tablespoon plain dry bread crumbs

2 2 teaspoons butter, melted

Stir the soup, milk, black pepper and rotini in a 1-quart baking dish.
Stir the bread crumbs and butter in a small bowl. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the rotini mixture.
Bake at 400°F. for 20 minutes or until the rotini mixture is hot and bubbling.

This dish was pretty good, and the only thing I added was sprinkled cheese on top to make it even cheesier. I also think I added more noodles than I should have, which made it a little less cheesy than I like. So next time I attempt this, I will totally throw some cheese on it, on it!

Slacking!

2011-08-30T15:58:00.000-05:00

I suck at life. I haven't been keeping up with Teen Mom, I missed the special Jersey Shore episode they showed before the VMA's, (which I also missed) and I am having trashy reality show withdrawals. Ugh! I am pretty sure this is how I know I'm old, I seriously haven't missed the VMA's since like, 2005. If anyone of my peeps saw any of the mentioned programs, holler at me and let me know what happened!

In other news, it's like, 107 degrees in Houston right now and I'm pretty sure that all I want to do is this :

Chillin' like a villain on the 4th of July

Seriously, it's awful and I am covered in sweat, no joke, after being outside for 5 minutes. This could be because I resemble a baby manatee right now, but mostly it's just because the humidity + a katrillion degrees = sweaty, fat walrus face. Speaking of being a fat, sea animal, we started a biggest loser program at work, and I am really, really hoping this motivates me to lose a few pounds and start making healthier living choices. I've already lost one pound and have vowed to drink only water during the day and then either a diet coke or juice at night. My goal is to lose 16lbs, and the program lasts for 12 weeks so if I work hard enough, I can totally do it! Can I get witness? What? Anyway, I'll keep y'all posted on my progress! Hope everyone has a fantastical Tuesday!

The glass is half full.............

2011-08-29T15:08:00.000-05:00

..........the glass is half full, the glass is half full!

Whoever invented learning should be shot!

School starts today and I already have an assignment due on Friday. I can't believe it. I mean, duh, I knew I'd have assignments, but I can't believe I'm actually a full time student. I've been talking about going back for so long, and always said I'd go back when my kids were both in school. Then I realized that waiting that long to go back would put me at an even greater disadvantage and that I might as well start working towards my degree now. The 4 years it will take before Layton is in school will happen whether I'm in school or not, so I might as well make the best of them.

So right now I'm freaking out a little about the idea of being a full time mommy, working 40 hours a week and going to school full time, but I know I can do it (can I get a "You go girl!"?) and I just have to stay positive and focused. I can't even imagine how I'll feel when I walk across that stage with my degree, and I just have to keep my eye on the prize!

To all of you who started school today, good luck and I hope this semester is awesome! For those mommies who do it all, you rock my socks off!

A little piece of Heaven......or two

2011-08-25T09:10:00.000-05:00

This morning I was in a funk. Traffic was awful (thank you Houston!) I still have several things I need to to do before school starts next week, Sean forgot to take out the trash, and I just want it to be Friday. So I feel a Rudey McRude attitude coming on, and then I see this on my computer:

Jaxon, October 2006

Layton, March 2010

And my cold heart of stone is instantly melted. Thank you Jaxon, for being the sweetest, funniest, most amazing child I could ever hope for. Layton, thank you for being the most beautiful, adorable, smart baby princess I could ever ask for. Thank you Lord, for loving me enough to bless me with them. The saying "To have a child is to watch your heart walk around outside your body" is so, absolutely true.

Dear Lobster

2011-08-24T19:19:00.000-05:00

Husband,
Last night you got up with Layton a katrillion times while she screamed like a pig being slaughtered because we were trying to wean her off the binky. You did this so I could sleep. Today you went to San Jac and tried to buy my books so I wouldn't have to take time off work to do so. Then you had dinner ready when I got home and now you are doing dishes without me asking. Tomorrow you will take Layton to her 18 month check up so I don't have to miss work. Sometimes I think that I don't even deserve you, but then I think that of course I do because you were made by God specially just for me. Sometimes I'm a jerk and can't get over the past and bring up things that don't matter. Not sure why I do this, but I'm grateful that you put up with it when I do. You are a phenomenal man, and I am blessed to have you. Thank you for sharing your life with me. Love, your beautiful, awesome, wonderful wife. (Hehe)